Barbershop Industry Statistics (2026): 40+ Data Points on Market Growth, the Shop Boom, and the Grooming Economy
The British high street has been shedding shops for a decade, yet one trade keeps opening doors. Barbershops added 5,791 outlets across Great Britain in five years, the fastest growth of any high-street retail category (Local Data Company, via National Hair & Beauty Federation 2024). In the United States the picture rhymes: the barber shops industry reached roughly $7.0 billion in revenue in 2025, having grown at a 9.8% compound annual rate since 2020 (IBISWorld, Barber Shops in the US 2025). Barbers held about 76,000 jobs across the US in 2024, part of a personal-care occupation projected to keep expanding faster than the wider labour market (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2024).
We aggregated data from IBISWorld, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Office for National Statistics, the US Census Bureau, the Local Data Company, Grand View Research, and other sources to map where the barbering trade stands in 2026, and where the numbers point next.
Key takeaways
- The US barber shops industry was worth about $7.0 billion in 2025, up at a 9.8% annual rate since 2020 (IBISWorld 2025).
- There are roughly 155,000 barber shop businesses in the US as of 2026, a count growing at 4.6% a year since 2020 (IBISWorld 2026).
- Great Britain gained 5,791 barbershops in five years, the fastest-growing high-street retail category (Local Data Company / NHBF 2024).
- About 19,400 independent barbers trade on British high streets, and 99% of the sector is independently owned (Local Data Company 2024).
- US barbers held about 76,000 jobs in 2024; the wider barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists group numbered 651,200 (US BLS 2024).
- Employment across that group is forecast to grow 5% between 2024 and 2034, adding roughly 35,300 jobs (US BLS 2024).
- The median US barber earned $18.73 an hour, about $38,960 a year, in May 2024 (US BLS 2024).
- Around 121,500 hairdressers and barbers were employed in the UK in mid-2024 (Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey 2024).
- Roughly 78% of US barbers are men, on an average age of about 39 (US Census Bureau, ACS via Data USA 2024).
- The global men's grooming products market was valued near $299 billion in 2025, the economy the barber's chair sits inside (Grand View Research 2025).
1. Market size and revenue
Barbering is a small industry by dollar value and a fast one by trajectory. IBISWorld puts US barber shop revenue at about $7.0 billion in 2025, expanded at a 9.8% compound annual rate over five years, with a 1.3% rise in 2025 alone as discretionary grooming spend held up. The US Census Bureau's narrower measure, which counts only employer firms rather than the many sole-trader chairs, records a smaller base of around $6.4 billion for 2025; the gap between the two figures is a reminder that most barbering happens in one- and two-person shops the payroll surveys miss.
Globally, independent estimates place the barber shops market near $20 billion in 2025. The mobile end of the trade, barbers who travel to the client, is smaller but quicker: valued at $2.1 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $4.1 billion by 2030, a 10.1% annual pace (Global Industry Analysts 2024).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US barber shops revenue (2025) | ~$7.0 billion | IBISWorld 2025 |
| US revenue CAGR (2020โ2025) | 9.8% | IBISWorld 2025 |
| US revenue change (2025) | +1.3% | IBISWorld 2025 |
| US employer-firm barber shop revenue (2025 est.) | ~$6.4 billion | US Census Bureau (NAICS 812111) |
| Global barbershop market (2025) | ~$20.1 billion | Kentley Insights 2025 |
| Mobile barber shop market (2023) | $2.1 billion | Global Industry Analysts 2024 |
| Mobile barber shop market (2030, forecast) | $4.1 billion, 10.1% CAGR | Global Industry Analysts 2024 |
Primary source: IBISWorld, Barber Shops in the US.
2. The shop-count boom
The clearest signal of demand is not revenue but doors. The US carried roughly 155,000 barber shop businesses in 2026, a figure that has climbed 4.6% a year since 2020 (IBISWorld 2026). Britain's version of the story is starker because it runs against the tide: while pubs, banks and clothing shops closed, barbershops became the single fastest-growing category on the high street, adding 5,791 units in five years (Local Data Company / NHBF 2024).
What makes the British boom distinctive is who owns it. About 19,400 independent barbers trade on GB high streets, and 99% of the sector is independently run rather than chain-operated (Local Data Company 2024). Barber shop numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels even as hairdressing salons continue to struggle, a divergence within the same broad trade (British Beauty Council, citing Local Data Company 2024).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US barber shop businesses (2026) | ~155,000 | IBISWorld 2026 |
| US business-count CAGR (2020โ2025) | 4.6% | IBISWorld 2026 |
| GB barbershops added (five years) | +5,791 | Local Data Company / NHBF 2024 |
| High-street growth ranking | Fastest-growing retail category | Local Data Company / NHBF 2024 |
| GB independent barbers on the high street | ~19,400 | Local Data Company 2024 |
| Share of GB sector independently owned | 99% | NHBF / Local Data Company 2024 |
Primary source: Local Data Company, Growth and Decline.
3. Barbers at work: the US workforce
Behind the shopfronts is a growing labour force. US barbers held about 76,000 jobs in 2024 on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' payroll measure; the broader group of barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists came to 651,200. That wider group is forecast to grow 5% between 2024 and 2034, faster than the average for all occupations, adding around 35,300 jobs over the decade.
Pay sits in the middle of the personal-care range and turns heavily on tips and chair rents the surveys capture unevenly. The median barber earned $18.73 an hour in May 2024, about $38,960 a year; the lowest tenth earned under $13.35 an hour and the top tenth over $37.71. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which unlike the payroll data captures the many self-employed booth renters, records a lower average nearer $33,000, a gap that says as much about how barbers are paid as how much.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US barbers employed (2024) | ~76,000 | US BLS 2024 |
| Barbers, hairstylists & cosmetologists (2024) | 651,200 | US BLS 2024 |
| Projected job growth (2024โ2034) | +5% (~35,300 jobs) | US BLS 2024 |
| Median barber pay (May 2024) | $18.73/hr (~$38,960/yr) | US BLS 2024 |
| Lowest 10% of barbers | < $13.35/hr | US BLS 2024 |
| Highest 10% of barbers | > $37.71/hr | US BLS 2024 |
| Barbers working in barber shops | 90.7% | US Census (ACS) via Data USA 2024 |
Primary source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook.
4. The UK picture
The British trade is larger in headcount than its shop count alone suggests. Around 121,500 people worked as hairdressers and barbers in the UK in the second quarter of 2024, measured through the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey (SOC unit group 6221). The wider hair and beauty treatment market is valued at about ยฃ5.8 billion, part of a sector the NHBF estimates contributes roughly ยฃ8.5 billion to the economy.
The barbering slice of that sector is the part still growing. Its resilience through a decade of high-street contraction has made it a case study in why some services resist online substitution: a haircut and a wet shaving service cannot be delivered by an app, and the visit itself carries a social value the transaction does not fully price.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK hairdressers & barbers employed (Q2 2024) | ~121,500 | ONS Labour Force Survey 2024 |
| UK hair & beauty treatment market | ~ยฃ5.8 billion | NHBF 2024 |
| UK hair & beauty sector economic contribution | ~ยฃ8.5 billion | NHBF 2024 |
| GB barbershop numbers vs pre-pandemic | Returned to pre-pandemic levels | British Beauty Council / LDC 2024 |
Primary source: Office for National Statistics.
5. Who cuts hair: demographics of the trade
Barbering remains a male-majority craft, though less so than its image suggests. Census data compiled by Data USA puts US barbers at about 80,900 people in 2024, of whom 77.9% are men and 22.1% women, on an average age of roughly 39. Women in the trade skew slightly older, averaging 40.6 years against 38.5 for men. Looked at as a business rather than an occupation, barber shops employ about 82,350 workers, a marginally more mixed group at 72.8% male.
The workforce is also expanding from a low base. US barber numbers rose from roughly 60,900 in 2014 to about 80,900 in 2024 on the American Community Survey measure, a gain of around a third over the decade, with a 3.6% increase in the most recent year alone (US Census ACS via Data USA 2024).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US barbers (ACS count, 2024) | ~80,900 | US Census (ACS) via Data USA |
| Share male / female | 77.9% / 22.1% | US Census (ACS) via Data USA |
| Average age (all barbers) | ~39 | US Census (ACS) via Data USA |
| Average age, women vs men | 40.6 vs 38.5 | US Census (ACS) via Data USA |
| Barber shop industry workforce | ~82,350 | US Census / BLS via Data USA |
| US barbers, 2014 to 2024 | ~60,900 to ~80,900 (up ~a third) | US Census (ACS) via Data USA |
Primary source: Data USA, Barbers (US Census ACS).
6. The grooming economy around the chair
The barber's chair sits inside a much larger spend on how men present themselves. Grand View Research valued the global men's grooming products market at about $298.9 billion in 2025 and projects roughly $506.7 billion by 2033, a 6.7% annual pace. Skincare is the largest product slice at 34.1% of that market, and Asia Pacific the largest region at 34.3%, with North America at 24.6%.
That product economy and the service economy feed each other: rising interest in men's grooming supports demand for the barbershop visit, and the shop in turn seeds product habits, from safety razor shaving to skincare. It also runs alongside a growing scrutiny of what the disposable end of grooming leaves behind, the subject of separate disposable razor waste data. For readers acting on any of this, the durable end of the category, the reusable safety razors a barber reaches for, is where the two economies meet.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global men's grooming products market (2025) | ~$298.9 billion | Grand View Research 2025 |
| Forecast market (2033) | ~$506.7 billion | Grand View Research 2025 |
| Forecast CAGR (2026โ2033) | 6.7% | Grand View Research 2025 |
| Skincare share of product market (2025) | 34.1% | Grand View Research 2025 |
| Asia Pacific market share (2025) | 34.3% | Grand View Research 2025 |
| North America market share (2025) | 24.6% | Grand View Research 2025 |
Primary source: Grand View Research, Men's Grooming Products Market.
The numbers at a glance
| Statistic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US barber shops revenue (2025) | ~$7.0 billion | IBISWorld 2025 |
| US barber shop revenue CAGR (2020โ2025) | 9.8% | IBISWorld 2025 |
| US barber shop businesses (2026) | ~155,000 | IBISWorld 2026 |
| US business-count CAGR (2020โ2025) | 4.6% | IBISWorld 2026 |
| Global barbershop market (2025) | ~$20.1 billion | Kentley Insights 2025 |
| Mobile barber shop market (2030, forecast) | $4.1 billion | Global Industry Analysts 2024 |
| GB barbershops added in five years | +5,791 | Local Data Company / NHBF 2024 |
| GB independent barbers on the high street | ~19,400 | Local Data Company 2024 |
| Share of GB sector independently owned | 99% | NHBF / Local Data Company 2024 |
| US barbers employed (2024) | ~76,000 | US BLS 2024 |
| Barbers, hairstylists & cosmetologists (2024) | 651,200 | US BLS 2024 |
| Projected job growth (2024โ2034) | +5% (~35,300 jobs) | US BLS 2024 |
| Median US barber pay (May 2024) | $18.73/hr (~$38,960/yr) | US BLS 2024 |
| UK hairdressers & barbers employed (Q2 2024) | ~121,500 | ONS 2024 |
| UK hair & beauty treatment market | ~ยฃ5.8 billion | NHBF 2024 |
| US barbers, share male | 77.9% | US Census (ACS) via Data USA 2024 |
| US barbers, average age | ~39 | US Census (ACS) via Data USA 2024 |
| US barbers, 2014 to 2024 | ~60,900 to ~80,900 | US Census (ACS) via Data USA 2024 |
| Global men's grooming products market (2025) | ~$298.9 billion | Grand View Research 2025 |
| Men's grooming market (2033, forecast) | ~$506.7 billion | Grand View Research 2025 |
Frequently asked questions
How big is the barbershop industry?
The US barber shops industry was worth about $7.0 billion in revenue in 2025 (IBISWorld 2025), while independent estimates put the global barbershop market near $20 billion (Kentley Insights 2025). Both sit inside a global men's grooming products market valued at roughly $299 billion in 2025 (Grand View Research 2025).
Are barbershops growing or declining?
Growing, and unusually fast for a high-street trade. US barber shop revenue rose at a 9.8% annual rate from 2020 to 2025 (IBISWorld 2025), and in Great Britain barbershops added 5,791 outlets in five years to become the fastest-growing high-street retail category (Local Data Company / NHBF 2024).
How many barbers are there?
US payroll data recorded about 76,000 barbers in 2024 (US BLS 2024), while the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which also counts self-employed booth renters, puts the figure nearer 80,900 (Data USA 2024). In the UK, around 121,500 people worked as hairdressers and barbers in mid-2024 (ONS 2024).
How much do barbers earn?
The median US barber earned $18.73 an hour, about $38,960 a year, in May 2024 (US BLS 2024). Averages that include the many self-employed barbers run lower, nearer $33,000 (US Census ACS via Data USA 2024), reflecting part-time work and chair-rental arrangements.
Why are barbershops doing well when other shops close?
A haircut and a traditional shave are services that cannot be bought online, and the visit carries a social and routine value beyond the transaction. Low start-up costs and near-total independent ownership (99% of the GB sector) also let new shops open quickly where demand appears (Local Data Company 2024).
Methodology and sources
Figures are drawn from primary and named-industry sources published between 2024 and 2026, cited inline at the point of use. Where a statistic is the most recent available rather than current-year, it is dated in the table.
Note on conflicting figures. Revenue and headcount estimates differ by method. IBISWorld's US revenue (~$7.0bn) counts all establishments including sole traders, while the US Census employer-firm measure (~$6.4bn) does not. Barber counts differ because the BLS payroll survey (~76,000) excludes self-employed barbers that the Census American Community Survey (~80,900) captures; the same split explains why ACS-based average pay runs below the BLS median. Men's grooming market values vary between research-firm editions; the Grand View Research 2025 edition is used throughout. Aggregator figures are included only where the underlying methodology is disclosed.
Sources: IBISWorld (Barber Shops in the US, 2025 and 2026); US Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Outlook Handbook and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024); Office for National Statistics (Labour Force Survey, 2024); US Census Bureau (NAICS 812111 and American Community Survey, via Data USA); Local Data Company and National Hair & Beauty Federation (2024); British Beauty Council (2024); Grand View Research (Men's Grooming Products Market, 2025); Kentley Insights (2025); Global Industry Analysts (Mobile Barber Shops, 2024).
Last updated 6 July 2026. This article is updated quarterly.