Small business · Salons & personal care · Michigan
Health insurance for Michigan salons and personal care businesses
Small teams, commission pay and part-time chairs. Here’s what the numbers say and which options work for a salon.
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- 10,656 MI beauty salon jobs
- Avg. 6 jobs per salon
- QSEHRA or ICHRA
Get options for my salon
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Salons & personal care in Michigan, by the numbers
| Michigan private industry | Jobs (2025 avg.) | Locations | Avg. jobs per location | Avg. annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal care services (NAICS 8121) | 17,276 | 3,073 | 5.6 | $30,265 |
| Beauty salons (NAICS 812112) | 10,656 | 1,745 | 6.1 | $29,412 |
BLS QCEW, 2025 annual averages, private ownership; jobs per location is jobs divided by establishments.[1] QCEW covers jobs reported under unemployment insurance and excludes proprietors and the unincorporated self-employed.[2]
What benefits look like in this kind of work
- Service-occupation workers had 47% access to an employer medical plan.[3]
- Part-time private-industry workers had 23% access.[3]
- Workers in the lowest-paid quarter of private jobs had 39% access.[3]
National figures for private industry; BLS doesn’t publish these by state.[3]
What we’d look at for a salon
Michigan’s 1,745 beauty salons with payroll employees averaged 6.1 jobs each in 2025, with average pay of $29,412.[1] QCEW doesn’t count the self-employed[2], so independent stylists aren’t in these numbers. For a small salon, a fixed monthly QSEHRA or ICHRA allowance is often easier to budget than a group plan.
Rules that apply to you
- Small group is 1 to 50. For SHOP coverage you generally need 1 to 50 full-time-equivalent employees who aren’t owners or family, and you can start any time of year.[4] See small group rules.
- Can’t meet a carrier’s contribution or participation rule? Federal rules let insurers limit those groups to a November 15 to December 15 enrollment window each year.[5] See contribution and participation rules.
- The mandate starts at 50. Employers with at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, on average in the prior year are applicable large employers.[6]
- Part-time hours count toward that 50: you combine non-full-time employees’ monthly hours, up to 120 per person, to get full-time equivalents.[6] See the employer mandate at 50.
- QSEHRA is open only to employers that aren’t applicable large employers and don’t offer a group health plan; 2026 limits are $6,450 single and $13,100 family.[7] See QSEHRA.
- ICHRA can be offered by class of employees, but you can’t offer the same class both an ICHRA and a traditional group plan.[8] See ICHRA and ICHRA vs. a group plan.
- Tax credit check. The small business health care tax credit requires fewer than 25 FTEs and average annual wages under $67,000 per FTE (2025 rules), with a plan through SHOP.[9] This industry’s Michigan average pay was $29,412 in 2025[1], but your own payroll math decides it. See the Form 8941 guide.
Workers’ compensation is a separate, required coverage and isn’t covered on this page.
Related: small business health insurance, level-funded plans and adding dental and vision.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Michigan, 2025 annual averages (private ownership). https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/area/26000.csv
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW Overview: coverage and employment exclusions. https://www.bls.gov/cew/overview.htm
- BLS, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026, Table 2: Medical care benefits, access and participation. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.t02.htm
- HealthCare.gov, Overview of SHOP: Health insurance for small businesses. https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/choose-and-enroll/shop-marketplace-overview/
- 45 CFR 147.104, Guaranteed availability of coverage (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-B/part-147/section-147.104
- IRS, Determining if an employer is an applicable large employer. https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/employers/determining-if-an-employer-is-an-applicable-large-employer
- IRS, Publication 15-B (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b
- 26 CFR 54.9802-4, Special rule allowing integration of HRAs with individual health insurance coverage (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-54/section-54.9802-4
- IRS, Instructions for Form 8941 (2025). https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8941
Checked October 16, 2026. 2027 Marketplace plans and final 2027 rates aren’t published yet; we’ll update this page when they are.
Frequently asked questions
Can a small salon afford health benefits?
Many use a QSEHRA, a fixed monthly allowance employees use toward their own coverage. 2026 limits are $6,450 single and $13,100 family.
Are booth renters our employees?
That's a worker-classification question for your accountant or attorney. QCEW data counts only payroll employees and excludes the self-employed.
Will you sell my information?
No. Your information goes to Nexus Benefit Solutions only and is never sold.