Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · County · North Carolina

Barbershops in Durham County, NC

How Durham County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for barbershops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #397 of 1,356 scored counties
#13 of 69 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
90
11 chain locations (12%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$137.4M
On personal care products and services · $969 a household
Spending per listing
$1.5M
19% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.3
19% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
347,240
+7.7% since 2020

See the barbershops around any address in Durham County

The site report maps the barbershops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Durham County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on personal care products and services in Durham County comes to about $137.4M a year: $969 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.5M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 19% below the U.S. figure of $1.9M. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only barbershops.

There are 90 barbershops on map listings in Durham County as of September 2026. 11 of them (12%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 6.3 for every 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in Durham County classed as barber shops. That is one for every 28,369 households, against one for every 16,589 across the U.S. Another 116 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $348K have gone to businesses classed as barber shops in Durham County.

Population estimates show Durham County grew 7.7% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Durham County scores 63 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for barbershops, ranking #397 of 1,356 scored counties and #13 of 69 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Durham County compares

The same measures for North Carolina and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all personal care products and services by the barbershops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Barbershops in Durham County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureDurham CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.35.65.3
Spending per listing$1.5M$1.6M$1.9M
Households per official establishment28,36922,07416,589
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+33.8%+28.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+7.7%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$969$897$1,005
Median household income$82,316$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score6342

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 5
Employees, 2023
12
Annual payroll, 2023
$458K
One-person businesses, 2023
116Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9011 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
73The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$348K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as barber shops in Durham County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Durham County

Population, 2025 estimate
347,240+7.7% since 2020
Households
141,847
Median age
38.1
Homes lived in by their owners
56%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
288 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,156
Median household income
$82,316+35.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$114,501
Median home value
$389,400
Jobs located here
257,395
Daytime population
437,816Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Durham County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the barbershops on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Durham County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Barbershops across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for barbershops, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Durham County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for barbershops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Chatham County, NC9351.5$6.9M+11.0%#4 of 1,356
2Brunswick County, NC84131.9$4.8M+26.5%#37 of 1,356
3Orange County, NC78223.8$2.7M+6.1%#96 of 1,356
4Union County, NC77253.0$3.6M+11.7%#102 of 1,356
5Buncombe County, NC74313.0$3M+2.9%#152 of 1,356
6Johnston County, NC72394.6$2M+17.9%#191 of 1,356
7Franklin County, NC68103.5$2.5M+18.8%#282 of 1,356
8Dare County, NC6674.2$2.4M+3.3%#307 of 1,356
9Cabarrus County, NC66364.3$2.3M+9.9%#311 of 1,356
10Pender County, NC66114.3$2.1M+19.0%#317 of 1,356
13Durham County, NC63906.3$1.5M+7.7%#397 of 1,356

Other business types in Durham County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many barbershops are in Durham County, NC?

As of September 2026, map listings count 90 barbershops in Durham County. 11 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count barbershops. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as barber shops in 2023. Official counts list 116 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Durham County, NC spend on personal care products and services?

About $137.4M a year, or $969 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 90 barbershops on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per shop. That spending covers all personal care products and services, which barbershops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 141,847 households in Durham County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Durham County, NC compare with the U.S. for barbershops?

Durham County has 6.3 barbershops per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.3. Spending per shop is $1.5M, 19% below the U.S. figure of $1.9M. At the U.S. ratio of barbershops to household spending, Durham County would have about 73, against 90 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 28,369 households, against one for every 16,589 across the U.S.

How fast is Durham County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Durham County at 347,240 people in 2025, up 7.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 141,847 households. The median household income in Durham County is $82,316 a year, 2% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.0% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Durham County scores 63 for barbershops (upper middle), #397 of 1,356 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Durham County. It maps the barbershops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for barbershops · All 56 business types in Durham County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Durham County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Durham County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.