Full Groom (with Standard Cut): Small (≤20 lbs)
$84book rate
75 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
The Book Rate is a standard, not a survey.
Every number on this page is the time a competent groomer needs for the job, multiplied by what that time costs. It is built the way a mechanic's labour guide is built, and it is published for the same reason: so a professional can justify a price without apologising for it.
The book
National rates for core services at national cost levels. Each tile shows the standard time the job takes and the consumables it uses, so the rate above it can be checked against both.
Full groom and bath
Full Groom (with Hand Scissor Cut): Small (≤20 lbs)
$105book rate
90 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Full Groom (with Standard Cut): Medium (21–50 lbs)
$104book rate
105 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Full Groom (with Hand Scissor Cut): Medium (21–50 lbs)
$130book rate
120 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Full Groom (with Standard Cut): Large (51+ lbs)
$127book rate
135 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Full Groom (with Hand Scissor Cut): Large (51+ lbs)
$158book rate
150 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Bath & Brush: Small (≤20 lbs)
$60book rate
50 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Bath & Brush: Medium (21–50 lbs)
$64book rate
75 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Bath & Brush: Large (51+ lbs)
$74book rate
105 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Nail Trim
$21book rate
10 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Often an add-on, not always bookable alone
Nail Grind
$21book rate
10 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Often an add-on, not always bookable alone
Ear Cleaning
$13book rate
12 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Often an add-on, not always bookable alone
Sanitary Trim
$16book rate
15 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Often an add-on, not always bookable alone
Teeth Brushing
$16book rate
8 minstandard time
$4.50consumables
Often an add-on, not always bookable alone
Breed and specialty
Poodle Full Cut
$129book rate
150 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Bichon Frise Cut
$89book rate
105 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Schnauzer Cut
$84book rate
105 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Terrier Hand Strip
$126book rate
150 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Golden / Retriever Trim
$79book rate
105 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Double Coat Deshed
$47book rate
65 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Lion Cut (Cat)
$149book rate
50 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Cat Groom: Full
$139book rate
75 minstandard time
$5.50consumables
Add-ons
De-matting Fee
$31book rate
15 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Flea / Derm Bath
$21book rate
30 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Blueberry Facial
$13book rate
10 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Paw Balm Treatment
$10book rate
5 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Anal Gland Expression (External)
$15book rate
5 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Scent / Fragrance Add-On
$8book rate
3 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Bandana or Bow
$5book rate
2 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Nail Polish (Pet-Safe)
$16book rate
15 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Hydro-Surge / Undercoat Rake
$26book rate
20 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Feline Matting
$30book rate
45 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
Feline Large Cat
$37book rate
20 minstandard time
$1.50consumables
Add-on only
One line at a time
The full groom for a small dog, taken apart. Nothing here is hidden: the time is the standard, the door rate is the value of that time, and the materials are the consumables the job consumes.
Standard time
75 minutes
Door rate, national
$63.60 per billable hour
75 min at $63.60
$79.50
Consumables
$4.50
ACADA Book Rate
$84.00
Consumables are carried per service. The two hand scissor variants and a few add-ons have no row of their own yet, so they are shown at the median for their family, which is what the same shampoo and cotton cost on a comparable job.
The same standard, priced where you work
Time does not change with the ZIP code. What that time costs does. Rent, local wages and the local client base move together, and the result is a cost factor applied to the national number. The factor below is what a ZIP's cost of doing business is, relative to the national average.
0.39x
1.00x
2.07x
A factor of 1.35 means the same 75 minutes costs 35 percent more to deliver in that market than at the national average. It is a cost of business, not a verdict on what anyone there should charge. Cost factors run roughly five to one across US counties. Prices do not: measured against 415 observed prices, local cost explains about eight percent of the difference in what salons actually charge. That gap is the reason this book exists.
How it is built
Three inputs, published in full, so any member can check our work and argue with a number they think is wrong.
Input one
Standard time
The minutes a competent groomer needs for the service, by size and coat. It is the same everywhere in the country, because a small full groom does not take longer in Ohio.
Faster than book time is the groomer's profit. Slower is the groomer's problem to solve, which is exactly how flat rate disciplines a shop.
Input two
Local cost of that time
A door rate per ZIP, built from county rent and county household income. Two numbers, weighted:
60%labour
40%rent
A local demand adjustment, derived from the income of the client base rather than from anyone's price list, is capped at 20 percent in either direction.
Input three
Consumables
Shampoo, conditioner, cotton, gloves, dryer time and water, carried per service. Small numbers, but they are the difference between a rate that survives a month and one that does not.
The national level is anchored to the published national average, so local data redistributes an approved number rather than quietly moving it.
What this is, and what it is not
- It is not a survey of your neighbours. We do not publish what salons near you charge, and we will not. Market prices we collect are used to test our own estimates and stay inside the building.
- It is not a price you have to charge. The Book Rate is a reference. A member sets their own price, and a member who charges above the book is not doing anything wrong.
- It will sometimes sit above your local market. When it does, that is the finding, not the error. Work priced below the cost of its own standard is being subsidised by the person doing it.
- It is not finished. Three services still carry a curve inherited from the full groom and are being refitted against their own standard time. We track that internally, service by service, rather than hiding it.