Best programs to become a manicurist
You do not need a college degree to become a manicurist. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, as well as Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist (IPEDS completions).
2 college programs at 1,373 schools train manicurists and pedicurists, graduating 71,354 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $35,760 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About manicurists and pedicurists
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails. May polish or decorate nails.
Best programs to study to become a manicurist
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 12.0401 | 56,828 | 79.6% | 1,353 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
| 2 | CIP 12.0410 | 14,526 | 20.4% | 513 | $17,113 | $10,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What manicurists and pedicurists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $36,630 | 39,210 | 2.19× | 119 | 9,076 |
| Texas | $34,040 | 5,340 | 0.39× | 132 | 8,043 |
| Florida | $37,840 | 4,470 | 0.46× | 110 | 6,016 |
| Georgia | $26,910 | 1,710 | 0.36× | 44 | 3,976 |
| Pennsylvania | $27,990 | 9,610 | 1.61× | 53 | 2,451 |
| New York | $34,660 | 19,710 | 2.07× | 36 | 2,286 |
| North Carolina | $34,740 | 1,900 | 0.39× | 64 | 2,118 |
| Ohio | $35,590 | 3,680 | 0.67× | 49 | 2,090 |
| Illinois | $37,050 | 2,470 | 0.41× | 58 | 1,910 |
| Utah | $28,820 | 1,150 | 0.67× | 26 | 1,909 |
| Tennessee | $34,810 | 1,200 | 0.37× | 42 | 1,895 |
| Louisiana | $28,170 | 2,210 | 1.16× | 28 | 1,803 |
| Michigan | $36,890 | 1,020 | 0.24× | 38 | 1,727 |
| New Jersey | $36,370 | 11,520 | 2.74× | 21 | 1,648 |
| Colorado | $37,110 | 3,970 | 1.41× | 26 | 1,545 |
| Oklahoma | $31,330 | 480 | 0.29× | 44 | 1,482 |
| Arizona | $35,290 | 2,440 | 0.77× | 21 | 1,391 |
| Washington | $49,900 | 5,570 | 1.60× | 20 | 1,232 |
| Indiana | $36,140 | 510 | 0.16× | 28 | 1,174 |
| Wisconsin | $36,680 | 2,350 | 0.81× | 29 | 1,134 |
| Kansas | $30,930 | 1,510 | 1.07× | 21 | 1,072 |
| South Carolina | $33,810 | 710 | 0.31× | 24 | 1,004 |
| Nevada | $41,880 | 1,020 | 0.67× | 10 | 950 |
| Kentucky | $45,310 | 240 | 0.12× | 22 | 946 |
| Missouri | $39,100 | 1,630 | 0.57× | 24 | 897 |
| Minnesota | $36,040 | 3,260 | 1.13× | 16 | 858 |
| Mississippi | $37,300 | 520 | 0.45× | 26 | 800 |
| Idaho | $34,910 | 160 | 0.19× | 14 | 724 |
| Iowa | $45,420 | 190 | 0.12× | 17 | 712 |
| Massachusetts | $35,470 | 4,660 | 1.30× | 15 | 692 |
| Alabama | $30,300 | 920 | 0.44× | 22 | 661 |
| Arkansas | $27,690 | 230 | 0.18× | 24 | 622 |
| Virginia | $36,630 | 4,230 | 1.05× | 15 | 570 |
| Maryland | $37,300 | 2,080 | 0.77× | 16 | 566 |
| Oregon | $46,080 | 2,210 | 1.14× | 15 | 430 |
| New Mexico | $25,720 | — | — | 13 | 426 |
| Connecticut | $34,720 | 4,490 | 2.69× | 8 | 336 |
| Nebraska | $56,940 | 310 | 0.31× | 5 | 299 |
| West Virginia | $38,260 | 120 | 0.17× | 12 | 246 |
| New Hampshire | $35,100 | 490 | 0.73× | 5 | 237 |
| Rhode Islandmoderate | $34,910 | — | — | 3 | 218 |
| Montana | $33,660 | 110 | 0.22× | 5 | 205 |
| Mainemoderate | $48,540 | 200 | 0.31× | 3 | 187 |
| Delawaremoderate | $31,200 | 780 | 1.63× | 4 | 162 |
| South Dakotamoderate | $45,310 | 250 | 0.55× | 4 | 162 |
| North Dakotamoderate | $33,430 | 270 | 0.64× | 4 | 140 |
| District of Columbialimited | $36,620 | — | — | 2 | 53 |
| Vermontlimited | — | 100 | 0.33× | 1 | 50 |
| Hawaiimoderate | $60,790 | 40 | 0.06× | 3 | 47 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Clean and sanitize tools and work environment.
- Apply undercoat and clear or colored polish onto nails with brush.
- Maintain supply inventories and records of client services.
- Shape and smooth ends of nails, using scissors, files, or emery boards.
- Prepare nail cuticles with water and oil, using cuticle knives to push back cuticles and scissors or nippers to trim cuticles.
- Prepare customers' nails in soapy water, using swabs, files, and orange sticks.
- Remove previously applied nail polish, using liquid remover and swabs.
- Use rotary abrasive wheels to shape and smooth nails or artificial extensions.
Skills
- Active Listening3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Active Learning2.8
- Reading Comprehension2.8
- Monitoring2.6
- Critical Thinking2.5
- Learning Strategies2.1
- Writing2.1
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service3.4
- English Language2.6
- Administration and Management2.6
- Personnel and Human Resources2.5
- Sales and Marketing2.4
- Production and Processing2.4
Abilities
- Near Vision3.5
- Finger Dexterity3.1
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.1
- Manual Dexterity3.0
- Oral Expression3.0
- Speech Recognition3.0
Core activities
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public3.5
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships3.2
- Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others3.0
- Assisting and Caring for Others3.0
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge2.7
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events2.7
How to get in
How to become a manicurist
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Manicurists and Pedicurists2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 12.0401Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General
- 12.0410Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a manicurist?+
You do not need a college degree to become a manicurist. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, as well as Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a manicurist?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, as well as Nail Technician/Specialist and Manicurist (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this job, which together graduate about 71,354 people a year.
How much do manicurists and pedicurists earn?+
The median is $35,760 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $28,920 at the 10th percentile to $50,140 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for manicurists and pedicurists growing?+
BLS projects a +7.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 24,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
1,373 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do manicurists and pedicurists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Manicurist, Pedicurist, Nail Technician (Nail Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 39-5092.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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