102 Lower-income Occupations
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
State Profiles
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
Select A State
What is Occupational Licensing?
An “occupational license” is, put simply, government permission to work in a particular field. To earn the license, an aspiring worker must clear various hurdles, such as earning a certain amount of education or training or passing an exam. In the 1950s, only one in 20 U.S. workers needed the government’s permission to pursue their chosen occupation. Today, that figure stands at almost one in four.
Makeup Artist
License required in 41 states
58th most burdensome licensing requirements among moderate-income occupations
28th most heavily regulated occupation among moderate-income occupations
What They Do
Makeup artists apply cosmetics to face or exposed body areas to improve or otherwise alter people’s appearances.[c]Adapted from http://www.occupationalinfo.org/defset5_3582.html[/c]Licensing
Forty-one states license makeup artistry. Two of these states, Louisiana and Nevada, issue a license specific to makeup artists. In the other 39 states, makeup application is interpreted as falling under the scope of other licenses administered by cosmetology boards (see Appendix B for details). On average, aspiring makeup artists must pay $169 in fees, complete 134 days of education and pass about two exams—the 58th most burdensome requirements of the 102 occupations studied here. Because most states license makeup artists, the occupation ranks as the 28th most widely and onerously licensed.
License to Work
The data and information here come from IJ’s License to Work report, released in November 2017.
States Ranked by Average Licensing Burden for 102 Lower-Income Occupations
More Burdensome Less Burdensom
Based on data released in November 2017| Burden Rank | State | States Licensed | Fees | Estimated Calendar Days Lost | Education | Experience | Exams | Minimum Grade | Minimum Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | 41 | $200 | 233 | 1000 clock hours | 2 | 12 | 18 | |
| 2 | Kansas | 41 | $195 | 233 | 1000 clock hours | 2 | 12 | 17 | |
| 3 | Alabama | 41 | $235 | 233 | 1000 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 16 | |
| 4 | Georgia | 41 | $139 | 233 | 1000 clock hours | 2 | 12 | 17 | |
| 5 | Missouri | 41 | $150 | 175 | 750 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 17 | |
| 6 | Illinois | 41 | $186 | 175 | 750 clock hours | 1 | 12 | 16 | |
| 7 | Tennessee | 41 | $190 | 175 | 750 clock hours | 2 | 0 | 16 | |
| 8 | Indiana | 41 | $92 | 163 | 700 clock hours | 1 | 10 | 18 | |
| 9 | Montana | 41 | $254 | 152 | 650 clock hours | 2 | 12 | 18 | |
| 10 | Vermont | 41 | $360 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 3 | 12 | 18 | |
| 11 | New Mexico | 41 | $253 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 3 | 10 | 17 | |
| 12 | West Virginia | 41 | $159 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 3 | 12 | 18 | |
| 13 | Mississippi | 41 | $233 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 12 | 17 | |
| 14 | South Dakota | 41 | $80 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 3 | 12 | 18 | |
| 15 | Delaware | 41 | $265 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 16 | |
| 16 | D C | 41 | $230 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 18 | |
| 17 | Minnesota | 41 | $285 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 3 | 12 | 0 | |
| 18 | New Jersey | 41 | $119 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 12 | 17 | |
| 19 | Idaho | 41 | $186 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 17 | |
| 20 | Maine | 41 | $148 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 17 | |
| 21 | North Dakota | 41 | $205 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 3 | 12 | 0 | |
| 22 | California | 41 | $115 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 17 | |
| 23 | Hawaii | 41 | $110 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 1 | 12 | 16 | |
| 24 | Ohio | 41 | $51 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 16 | |
| 25 | New Hampshire | 41 | $198 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 12 | 0 | |
| 26 | Arkansas | 41 | $125 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 1 | 10 | 16 | |
| 27 | Oklahoma | 41 | $60 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 8 | 16 | |
| 28 | Colorado | 41 | $177 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 0 | 16 | |
| 29 | Iowa | 41 | $118 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 1 | 12 | 0 | |
| 30 | New York | 41 | $70 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 0 | 17 | |
| 31 | North Carolina | 41 | $168 | 140 | 600 clock hours | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 | South Carolina | 41 | $175 | 105 | 450 clock hours | 2 | 10 | 16 | |
| 33 | Wisconsin | 41 | $391 | 105 | 450 clock hours | 2 | 0 | 18 | |
| 34 | Oregon | 41 | $115 | 117 | 500 clock hours | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | Michigan | 41 | $200 | 93 | 400 clock hours | 2 | 9 | 17 | |
| 36 | Alaska | 41 | $450 | 82 | 350 clock hours | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | 41 | $110 | 70 | 300 clock hours | 1 | 10 | 16 | |
| 38 | Florida | 41 | $70 | 61 | 260 clock hours | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 39 | Louisiana | 41 | $25 | 9 | 40 clock hours | 0 | 10 | 16 | |
| 40 | Nevada | 41 | $25 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 18 | ||
| 41 | Nebraska | 41 | $10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |