How to start a hair salon in 2026

Two licenses: yours, and the room's. In every state we read, the person cutting hair holds a cosmetology license and the premises holds its own — and in the first five below the owner of the premises does not have to be a cosmetologist:

• Texas. The stylist holds a TDLR Cosmetology Operator license (TDLR prints the hours and fee on its operator page). The room holds an Establishment License at $78 for two years, or a Mini-Establishment License at $70 for a private suite inside a licensed "gallery" establishment; the application asks for "detailed information of all business owners" and the ownership structure, not a practitioner license, and TDLR inspects the premises (TDLR). Texas no longer lists a separate booth-rental permit — a renter works under their own operator license in a licensed establishment.
• Florida. A cosmetologist has "a minimum of 1,200 hours of training" and may sit the exam after 1,000 (Florida Statutes §477.019); the license is $40 and the exam $50 plus a testing vendor's fee (Rule 61G5-24.002), capped by statute at $50 each (§477.026). "No cosmetology salon or specialty salon shall be permitted to operate without a license," and "Any person, firm, or corporation desiring to operate a cosmetology salon" may apply — the department "may cause an investigation to be made of the proposed cosmetology salon" (§477.025); the salon license is $40 plus a $50 application fee (Rule 61G5-24.005).
• New York. "No person shall engage in the practice of … cosmetology … without having received a license," and separately "No person shall own, control or operate, whether as a sole proprietor, partner, shareholder, officer, independent contractor or other person, an appearance enhancement business without having received a license for such business" (General Business Law §401). The practitioner license is $40 with a $15 exam, the business license $60, each for four years (§409); the training hours are set by the Department of State's rules, not the statute (§404) — check them with the department.
• California. A cosmetology course "shall consist of not less than 1,000 hours" (Business and Professions Code §7362.5); the initial license fee is capped at $50 for a cosmetologist and for the separate hairstylist license (§7423). "Any person, firm, or corporation desiring to operate an establishment shall make an application to the board for a license," with a signed acknowledgment "that the applicant understands that establishments are responsible for compliance with any applicable labor laws of the state" (§7347); the establishment fee is set by the board (§7421) — check the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology's schedule.
• Arizona. Two personal licenses: a cosmetologist completes "at least one thousand five hundred hours" (A.R.S. §32-511) and a hairstylist "at least one thousand hours" (§32-512.01); the board's archived fee page prints $60 for the personal license, $100 and $77 for the written and practical exams, and $110 for the establishment license, each plus a $3 service fee (Arizona Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, as archived April 2025) — the statute caps the establishment application at $200 (§32-507). "A person is entitled to receive a license to operate an establishment if the person" applies, pays the fee and names a manager (§32-541); the board "may: 1. Inspect the premises of any establishment" (§32-504). A blow-dry bar needs no license in Arizona — drying, styling and shampooing without reactive chemicals are exempt after a sanitation class (§32-506).
• Illinois. "All cosmetology, nail technology, hair braiding or esthetics salons and barber shops shall obtain a certificate of registration from the Division to operate in Illinois"; each location needs its own, every registered salon runs a self-inspection once a year, and a salon that rents booths either registers the whole room or "each individual licensee renting space must obtain their own registration" (IDFPR, qualifications for licensure). The registration is $40, and the application asks for the name and license number of the owner, chief executive, manager or managing partner who holds a license under the state's cosmetology and barber law (IDFPR application).
• North Carolina. The Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners licenses the salon before it opens or changes hands: "$25 registration + $10 processing + $3 per chair operating in the salon," and "A physical inspection will occur during your listed business hours within 30-45 days after the opening" (North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners).

If you rent a booth instead. The room's license is the salon owner's job, but check what your state asks of the renter: Illinois lets each booth renter register on their own when the salon hasn't registered the whole room, and Texas no longer lists a separate booth-rental permit. Check your state board and your city's rules before you sign the booth agreement.

Booth, suite or lease — the money. A booth: "The average booth rental salon costs a monthly fee of $400, but the range can be from at least $250 to $1,200 per month for a booth," with Manhattan "up to $1,000 per week" and new graduates "more than likely … offered a commission based pay (usually 50/50)" (GlossGenius, a salon-software company, 2025); Booksy puts a hairstylist's booth at $800 to $1,600 a month and $2,000 or more at the premium end (Booksy, May 2026); SalonRenter's 407 live listings run $52 to $1,800 a week (SalonRenter, October 2026). A suite: Sola Salon Studios, a franchisor, prints no price — "Studio pricing varies by location" — and sells it as "a cost similar to chair or booth rental" with "100% of your profits" (Sola Salon Studios). Your own salon: LendingTree's guide prices the build-out at "$50 to $75 per square foot," furniture at "$1,000 to $3,000 per operator or stylist," tools and products at "$300 to $700 per operator," point-of-sale at "$800 to $3,000 or more" and insurance at "$3,000 or more annually," and quotes a dealer's total of "$10,000 to $200,000 or more" (LendingTree, July 2026); Square's guide quotes another source's "$50,000 to $150,000 for a mid-market salon" (Square, July 2026). Both guides say the same thing the owners below say: a space that was already a salon cuts the plumbing and the build-out.

The chairs, the bowl and the shears, at a dealer's prices. Minerva Beauty's list prices, read October 2026: a styling chair from $299 (Minerva Beauty), a styling station from $439 and a rolling trolley at $219 (Minerva Beauty), a shampoo bowl alone at $139 and a pedestal shampoo system at $399 (Minerva Beauty), a hooded dryer from $299 (Minerva Beauty). A Hattori Hanzo cutting shear is $892 and a texturizer $598 (Hattori Hanzo). Three chairs, three stations, a shampoo system, a dryer and three trolleys come to $3,569 at list, $5,059 with the owner's two shears (our arithmetic). The opening color and retail order is a planning range — the wholesalers price it behind an account.

What a booth renter spends to start. If you already hold the license, the first month at list prices is about $3,365: the two shears ($1,490), a trolley ($219), a year of booking software at GlossGenius's $28 a month ($336; its Gold plan for up to nine staff is $56) — or Square Appointments' free plan at "$0/mo. per location" ($49 and $149 for the paid plans) with card fees of 2.6% plus 15 cents (Square; GlossGenius) — a year of general liability ($420) and professional liability ($500) at Insureon's medians, and the first month's booth rent at GlossGenius's $400 average (our arithmetic). The renter's own tax life is real: the IRS says a booth renter "operates their own business as an independent contractor," lists the five signs — "Having a key to the establishment · Setting your own hours · Purchasing your own products · Having your own phone number and business name · Determining the prices to be charged" — and requires a Form 1099 for rent of $600 or more paid to a non-corporate landlord (IRS Publication 4902). The IRS's three tests for whether a stylist is your employee or a contractor are behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship (IRS); a renter you schedule and supply is an employee in the IRS's eyes.

Sales tax — the New York City inversion. Hair services are not taxed in Texas (they are not on the Comptroller's taxable-services list; the only taxable personal services are massage parlors, Turkish baths and escort services — Texas Comptroller, publication 96-259), Florida (the statute taxes named services such as protection and nonresidential cleaning, not hair — Florida Statutes §212.05), California ("hair cutting, coloring, or styling" are "not subject to tax," though "you are considered the consumer of the supplies and products you use" and owe tax on them — CDTFA) or Arizona (the retail tax does not reach "professional or personal service occupations" — A.R.S. §42-5061). In every one of them the shampoo you sell at the counter is taxed, so a salon that sells retail needs a sales tax permit — Texas's rate is 6.25% plus up to 2% local (Texas Comptroller). New York inverts it inside the city: beautician, barbering and hair restoration services are "exempt from state and local sales tax everywhere in New York State outside New York City, but subject to New York City's local sales tax when sold in New York City" — 4.5% — and "Charges for booth rentals … are not subject to sales tax" (New York Department of Taxation, TB-ST-60; TB-ST-575; Tax Law §1212-A). Products you resell may be bought with a resale certificate; products you use in a service may not. Ask an accountant before you print the menu.

How to register the business. In the US it's the same four steps in each state we read, with different fees. Form the business — an LLC is $40 in Kentucky (Kentucky SOS), $50 in Arizona (Arizona Corporation Commission), $300 in Texas (Texas Secretary of State, Form 205), $200 in New York plus six weeks of newspaper publication (N.Y. LLC Law §1101; §206) and $70 in California (Government Code §12190), where every LLC also owes an $800 yearly tax (California FTB) — or file a DBA if you'll trade as a sole proprietor under a salon name. Get the free EIN (IRS), open a business bank account, get the sales tax permit if you'll sell product, and ask your city about a business license and sign permits. Our guide to whether you need an LLC walks through the choice.

Insurance and workers' comp. Insureon's medians for hair salons are $35 a month ($420 a year) for general liability, $42 a month ($500 a year) for professional liability — the chemical burn and the bad color — $70 a month ($841 a year) for a business owner's policy that bundles liability with your property, and $63 a month ($757 a year) for workers' compensation (Insureon, March 2025). Workers' comp: in Texas "private employers can choose to carry workers' compensation insurance coverage, but it is not required in most cases" (Texas Department of Insurance); in Florida, non-construction employers "with four (4) or more employees, including business owners who are corporate officers or Limited Liability Company (LLC) members, must have workers' compensation coverage" (Florida Division of Workers' Compensation); in New York "Virtually all employers" must, but "coverage is not required for a sole proprietor who does not have employees" (NY Workers' Compensation Board); in California, "If a business employs one or more employees, then it must satisfy the requirement" (California DIR); in Arizona the law covers "every person who employs any workers," with a written agreement creating "a rebuttable presumption of an independent contractor relationship" for a true renter (A.R.S. §23-902).

Outside the US. The UK inverts the whole table: hairdressing is not licensed. The Hairdressers (Registration) Act 1964 created a register that stylists may apply to join (legislation.gov.uk), and the Hair & Barber Council itself says "registration by hairdressers and barbers is voluntary meaning that, in reality, the industry is completely unregulated" (Hair & Barber Council) — professional registration is £75 a year (Hair & Barber Council); a sole trader registers for Self Assessment above £1,000 of income (gov.uk) and for VAT above £90,000 of turnover (gov.uk). Australia is the same: no license to cut or color hair, the Certificate III in Hairdressing as the trade credential, and council health registration only for skin penetration — "Hairdressing and other body decorating and grooming practices which do not deliberately pierce the skin are not regulated under this legislation" (NSW Health); an ABN is free (business.gov.au) and GST registration starts at A$75,000 of turnover (business.gov.au). Wherever you are, confirm the rules with your regulator and an accountant before the first paid client.

Franchise or independent? A franchise directory's reading of Great Clips' 2024 disclosure: an investment of $182,950 to $414,400, a 6% royalty and a 5% brand fund, and average gross revenue of $382,633 per unit across 4,427 units (Franzy, 2024 disclosure) — sales, not pay, for a chain's walk-in model. Every owner quoted in the next section built an independent chair, suite or salon.

The business, and the book. Rebook every client at the mirror, take a deposit on long color, keep the retail shelf light, and add a second chair only when yours is full. For one owner opening a three-chair salon, our free hair salon business plan puts the start at $34,252–$81,286: the establishment license and registration, the chairs, stations, shampoo system, dryer and shears at a dealer's list prices, a 400-square-foot build-out at LendingTree's per-foot range, the lease deposit and the opening color order as planning ranges, point-of-sale, a year of insurance, the website, software, signage and two months of running costs; the booth-rent route is the plan's optional line. The salon website templates show what a good salon's site looks like, Zarla's salon website builder is how a client searching for a salon near them finds yours, the best website builders for hair salons scores the alternatives, and our free gift certificate template is the counter's Black Friday.