Med spa · Austin, TX
$2,100–$4,900 /mo
Unanswered calls. ~30% of first calls hit voicemail, and 85% never call back.
First calls → voicemail
You30%
Healthy<10%
Where the rest goes
Every cost as a share of revenue, before owner pay and profit. If one of yours is well outside these, that is usually where the margin went.
| Line | Typical | Top performers |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 45–60% | 48% |
| Product consumables | 5–10% | 6% |
| Rent occupancy | 8–15% | 9% |
| Marketing | 2–6% | 4% |
- Labor: nail techs on commission or booth-style splits; tech pay is by far the biggest lever
- Product consumables: gel, dip powder, acrylic, files, liners, pedicure supplies
- Rent occupancy: strip-center retail plus water/ventilation costs for pedicure lines
- Marketing: most demand is walk-in and map-driven; top salons spend on photos and review velocity
The numbers that decide a nail salon
| Metric | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Revenue per employeeAnnual revenue per employee. Midpoint is the measured 2022 Economic Census figure for NAICS 812113 (total receipts ÷ employment); the range spans operator variation around it. | $51k – $103k |
| Avg visit ticketAverage ticket per visit including service and typical add-ons, before tip. | $32 – $80 |
| Rebooking rateShare of clients who book their next visit before leaving. | 35% – 60% |
| Inbound voicemail shareShare of inbound calls that go unanswered at a salon with no dedicated front desk. | 30% – 55% |
| Afterhours booking shareShare of new-client booking interest that happens outside salon hours. | 35% – 55% |
What to watch, in plain English
Rebooking rate
Healthy range: 40–60%
how many clients leave with their next fill or pedi already on the books
Gel and enhancement clients run on a 2–3 week cycle. If they don't book before they walk out, someone else's salon gets that cycle and you're back to buying a stranger.
Revenue per station per day
Healthy range: $250–$500 per station per day
how much each chair or pedi seat brings in a day
Stations and tech hours are your ceiling. An empty pedicure chair at 2pm on a Tuesday is revenue you can never sell twice.
How nail salons lose money
- Phone rings while every tech is mid-service, goes to voicemail, and the caller just tries the salon next door.
- No rebooking at checkout — gel clients disappear for six weeks instead of coming back in three.
- Walk-in-only operation with no online booking, so evening and Sunday interest evaporates.
- Prices frozen for three years while gel, dip, and labor costs climbed.
- Menu sprawl — forty services nobody can price or upsell cleanly at the desk.
What nail salons charge
Typical US ranges. Metro markets sit at the top of these; rural sits at the bottom.
| Service | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Classic manicure | $25–$40 |
| Gel manicure | $40–$65 |
| Classic pedicure | $40–$60 |
| Gel x or dip full set | $55–$90 |
| Acrylic fill | $40–$65 |
| Nail art per nail | $5–$15 |
The year, month by month
March
Spring break and prom start; push gel sets and get the online booking calendar clean.
May
Wedding and graduation peak — busiest stretch of the year; raise prices before it, not during.
December
Holiday parties and gift cards; strong for prepaid packages and evening slots.
These are the ranges. Want yours?
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Common questions
What is a good profit margin for a nail salon?
A typical nail salon keeps 8–18% of revenue as profit once the owner has been paid. Below 8% usually means labour or occupancy costs have crept up; the strongest operators sit at or above 18%.
How much does a nail salon owner make?
Owner compensation runs 8–18% of revenue. On the $342,000 a typical nail salon turns over in a year, that is roughly $27,000–$62,000 before any profit distribution on top.
How much revenue does a nail salon make per year?
A typical US nail salon turns over about $342,000 a year with roughly 4.7 people on the payroll, according to the 2022 Economic Census for NAICS 812113.
What percentage of nail salon revenue goes to wages?
Labour typically takes 45–60% of revenue at a nail salon. It is almost always the largest single cost, so a few points either way decides whether the year works.