What Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists earn in New Castle County, DE
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $37,320: the median annual pay for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in New Castle County, DE. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $17.94 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $43,990, which is 17.9% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 9,960 people working in this occupation across the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. New Castle County, DE has roughly 577,961 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $28,600 a year ($13.75 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $64,530 or more ($31.02 an hour). That is a gap of $35,930 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $31,980 at the 25th percentile and $49,440 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.3 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.94 an hour or $37,320 a year at the median for New Castle County, DE. Before any deductions, that is $3,110 a month, $1,435 every two weeks and $718 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.77 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in New Castle County, DE compares
Compared with the Delaware average
Pay for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in New Castle County, DE is in line with the statewide figure: $37,320 locally against an employment-weighted Delaware average of $37,125, a difference of only $195 (0.5%).
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists is $35,969 across the contiguous United States. At $37,320, New Castle County, DE pays $1,351 more, which is 3.8% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in New Castle County, DE
Among the 636 occupations with published wages in New Castle County, DE, Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists ranks number 589 by median pay, ahead of about 7% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $173,470 a year, which is $136,150 more than the median for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists earning the New Castle County, DE median of $37,320, they add up to $6,599. The result is $30,721 of take-home pay a year ($2,560 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $21,570. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,350, an effective 6.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,314 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $541. FICA totals $2,855, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Delaware
Delaware income tax on this salary is $1,394 a year, or 3.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 59% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $116 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for New Castle County, DE
IRS Statistics of Income data for New Castle County, DE show an average adjusted gross income of $93,743 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.0%, compared with the 6.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in New Castle County, DE
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in New Castle County, DE: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $30,721 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For New Castle County, DE, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,558 a month ($18,696 a year), and at $1,860 for two bedrooms. For Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists, a one-bedroom absorbs 60.9% of take-home pay and 50.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.2% of gross pay for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in New Castle County, DE. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Delaware residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,750 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $582, for $2,333 in total. Gasoline in Delaware averages $3.31 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,532.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $25,996 a year in New Castle County, DE. Subtract that from $30,721 of take-home pay and $4,724 remains, which is $394 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 12.7% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists afford to live in New Castle County, DE?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $37,320 that ceiling is $933 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,558 is $625 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $29.96 an hour; the median for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists is $17.94, which is 40% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.77 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 24.3 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,860 a month means $930 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,536 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $12,260.
How fast you can save
At $394 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 26 months (2.2 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 52 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists pay in New Castle County, DE
How much do Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists make per hour in New Castle County, DE?
The median is $17.94 per hour, based on $37,320 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $13.75 at the 10th percentile to $31.02 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists take home after taxes in New Castle County, DE?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $37,320 becomes $30,721 a year. That is $2,560 a month, $1,182 every two weeks or $591 a week.
How much tax do Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists pay in New Castle County, DE?
Total taxes are $6,599 a year, an effective rate of 17.7%: $2,350 federal income tax, $2,855 FICA and $1,394 Delaware income tax.
Do Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists earn more in New Castle County, DE than elsewhere in Delaware?
It is about the same. The local median of $37,320 is within 0.5% of the Delaware average of $37,125.
Can Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists afford a one-bedroom apartment in New Castle County, DE?
A one-bedroom costs $1,558 a month against take-home pay of $2,560, which is 60.9% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $933 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in New Castle County, DE?
About $394 a month ($4,724 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $25,996 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in New Castle County, DE at the 30% guideline?
$29.96 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $18,696 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists is $17.94.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Delaware rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.