Nail polish has been a defining part of beauty culture for decades. And American women have largely taken to the experience, frequenting nail salons and doing DIY manicures at home. While a nail choice can speak volumes about style, it also conveys more than meets the eye. 

In fact, CivicScience data show that how frequently women paint their nails can be a tell for other surprising consumer intent. Currently, Gen Z women are the most likely to paint their nails monthly or more, outpacing all other age groups by at least 15 percentage points.

Those who make between $50K and $100K annually lead in painting their nails monthly or more (47%), followed by those who make over $100K annually (42%). Just 30% of those who earn $50K or less annually paint their nails as often. 

Key Lifestyle Habits That Set Frequent Nail Polishers Apart

This demographic data is just the beginning of what sets frequent nail polishers apart from the rest. Here’s what the data show: 

Buy Now, Pay Later: Those who paint their nails monthly or more are 14 percentage points more likely to use buy now, pay later programs than those who never paint their nails (34% vs 20%). 

Communicating with Friends and Family: While 23% of those who paint their nails monthly or more say they use mobile messaging apps to communicate with their friends and family the most, just 5% of those who never paint their nails say the same.

Reality TV: Those who paint their nails monthly or more are more than twice as likely to watch 10 or more hours of reality TV per week as those who never paint their nails (11% vs 5%).

Job satisfaction: While 21% of the most frequent nail polishers say they are ‘somewhat’ unhappy in their current job, just 7% of those who never polish their nails say the same. 

Breakfast, To Go: Those who paint their nails monthly or more are more than twice as likely to eat breakfast on the road or at work as those who never paint their nails (23% vs 10%). 

Where do you stand? Take this poll now and see how your preference compares with other Americans:

Clearly, how often you polish your nails is more than just a fashion statement–it’s a choice with ramifications that can impact aspects of your life far beyond the salon chair. 

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This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.