Delaware is home to many of the country’s wealthy elite who form a lucrative market for makeup artists. Both the state’s social elite and business people benefit from professionals to advise them on their looks and keep current with changing styles.
Prominent companies have been active in Delaware since E.I. du Pont founded his gunpowder factory on the banks of the Brandywine River in the late 1700s. The net worth of the du Pont family in July 2014 was $15 billion according to Forbes.
Delaware had the 9th highest concentration of millionaires per capita in the US in 2013 according to a Phoenix Marketing International study. With such a large concentration of wealth comes lavish weddings that provide opportunities for makeup artists to transform the members of the wedding party and its guests.
High-end venues for weddings in Delaware include the Greenville Country Club and the Bellevue Hall that rents for nearly $4,000 for a five-hour period .
Salaries of Makeup Artists in Delaware
Makeup artist salaries vary a great deal depending on who is employing them. Some makeup artists work salaried positions, and the salaries for these professionals are available from the employment site Indeed.com. It provides the average salary offered in the previous year.
As of January 2015, the average salary for a makeup artist in Delaware was $36,000. Makeup artists in the big cities earned even more. The average salary was $45,000 in Dover and $43,000 in Wilmington.
Makeup artists who have additional skills frequently make more money. Those with designated experience in skin care earned 11% more on average. Makeup artist skincare advisors averaged $40,000 in Delaware.
Makeup artists with the skill of micro artistry are in high demand, and those in Delaware earned more than 2.5 times as much as standard makeup artists. These micro artists commanded starting salaries of $93,000.
Makeup artists are likely to get tips when they work for individual clients, so their level of take home pay would be higher than these figures suggest.
Most makeup artists work in motion picture and video and are the most highly paid overall. These industries employ almost three times as many makeup artists as those in the personal care services—those who take care of individual customers.
Many makeup artists are independent contractors who work for themselves. They can do extremely well with a good client base and are likely to earn more than the salaries advertised in job postings.