Washington, DC
Running a barbershop in DC? Know how many cuts pay for today.
Free. No sign-up.
Labor is set to the $18.40 DC minimum wage: two people for 8 hours is $294.40. The $40 average cut is only an example. Change any number.
Rent, insurance, subscriptions, loan payments
What you pay staff on a normal day
What one customer spends, on average
Food and drink cost as a % of the check
30 = open every day. 26 = closed one day a week. 22 = closed two.
Customers to break even today
27 customers
That is $1,080 in sales.
Your costs today$756
$462 fixed + $294 labor
Each customer contributes
$28.00
What is left after cost of goods
We divide your monthly fixed costs by the 26 days you open. Then we add one day of labor cost. Each customer covers only what is left after cost of goods. That is why the number is higher than your costs divided by the average sale.
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The free fix
The free fix, from KANJIN (kanjin.app), a digital stamp card and back office for small shops: Free break-even tracker.
Know each day if the shop covered its costs
Type the figures from the calculator above into the free back office once. Each day's sales then show whether the shop made its target. Print the page and tape it by the back door, so every shift knows the number.
Free plan, no time limit. No card needed.
Short answer
How many cuts does my DC barbershop need each day to cover its costs?
Add up one day of rent and wages, divide it by what each cut leaves after products and supplies, and round up. At the $18.40 DC minimum wage, two barbers on an 8-hour shift cost $294.40 before the first cut.
Your day is mostly paid for before you open
Rent, the chairs, the clippers and the people on the schedule cost the same on a slow Monday and a full Saturday.
So one number matters most. How many cuts do you need before the day stops losing money?
Type your own rent, wages and average cut into the calculator above. The answer is your daily target.
The DC wage went up on July 1
Since July 1, 2026, the minimum wage in DC is $18.40 an hour, for every employer, big or small.
Two people for 8 hours is $294.40 a day before rent or products.
If your barbers rent their chairs instead, use the booth rent calculator below.
Tips do not lower what you owe
For staff who get tips, the base wage in DC is $10.30 an hour since July 1, 2026.
If the base pay plus tips does not reach $18.40 an hour, the shop must pay the difference.
So a slow week with few tips can still cost you the full wage.
Sick time adds a little to every shift
In a DC shop with 1 to 24 employees, staff earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 87 hours worked, up to 3 days a year.
Add a little to your daily labor for those hours, so a sick day does not break your target.
A client who books one more time a month is the cheapest way to raise the number.
How to work out your barbershop's daily break-even in DC
- Add up one day of fixed costs.
Take your monthly rent, insurance and bills, and divide by the days you open.
- Add one day of wages.
In DC, at least $18.40 an hour for each person on the schedule, plus a little for paid sick leave.
- Find what one cut leaves.
Your average cut price, minus the products, blades and supplies it uses.
- Divide and round up.
The day's costs divided by what one cut leaves. That is how many cuts you need to cover the day.
The local numbers, with sources
- DC minimum wage
- $18.40 an hour since July 1, 2026, for all workers regardless of employer size
- Source: DC Department of Employment Services, 2026 minimum wage notice, checked 2026-11-11.
- DC base wage for tipped staff
- $10.30 an hour since July 1, 2026; the employer pays the difference if base pay plus tips is under $18.40
- Source: DC Department of Employment Services, 2026 minimum wage notice, checked 2026-11-11.
- DC paid sick leave, 1 to 24 employees
- 1 hour per 87 hours worked, up to 3 days a year
- Source: DC Department of Employment Services, Accrued Sick and Safe Leave fact sheet, checked 2026-11-11.
Common questions
What is the minimum wage in Washington, DC now?
$18.40 an hour since July 1, 2026, for all workers, whatever the size of the employer.
Can tips count toward a barber's wage in DC?
The base wage for staff who get tips is $10.30 an hour since July 1, 2026. If base pay plus tips falls short of $18.40, the employer pays the difference.
How do I work out how many cuts I need?
Divide one day of fixed costs and wages by what one average cut leaves after products and supplies. Round up. That is how many cuts you need each day.
Does the break-even tracker cost anything?
No. It is part of the free KANJIN back office, with no time limit. Type your costs once, and your target is there each time you sign in, on any device.
Do it for your own shop, free
Set your daily target once. Each day’s sales show whether you made it.
Type each day’s sales and supplier costs, and see how the week went in one chart.