Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Barbershops in the Kinston, NC area
How the Kinston, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for barbershops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 20 out of 100: Low
Ranked #338 of 377 scored small-town markets
#18 of 21 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 17
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $16.6M
- On personal care products and services · $712 a household
- Spending per listing
- $978K
- 48% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.3
- 38% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 55,837
- +1.4% since 2020
See the barbershops around any address in the Kinston area
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 the Kinston area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The Kinston area scores 20 (low) on the Groundwork market score for barbershops, ranking #338 of 377 scored small-town markets and #18 of 21 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on personal care products and services in the Kinston area comes to about $16.6M a year: $712 per household, 29% below the U.S. average. That works out to $978K per shop, 48% below the U.S. figure of $1.9M. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only barbershops.
The Kinston area has 17 barbershops on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 7.3 for every 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 5.3.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for barber shops in the Kinston area, since they leave out counts under 3. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Kinston area grew 1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Kinston area 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.
| Measure | Kinston area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.3 | 5.6 | 5.3 |
| Spending per listing | $978K | $1.6M | $1.9M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 22,074 | 16,589 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +33.8% | +28.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.4% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $712 | $897 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $45,143 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 20 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 39Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 170 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 9The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as barber shops in the Kinston area, 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 the Kinston area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 55,837+1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 23,351
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 399 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 138
- Median household income
- $45,143+14.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $65,291
- Median home value
- $120,500
- Jobs located here
- 29,615
- Daytime population
- 59,853Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Kinston area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 the Kinston area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardBarbershops across North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for barbershops, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Kinston area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kill Devil Hills, NC | 75 | 7 | 4.2 | $2.4M | +3.3% | #45 of 377 |
| 2Morehead City, NC | 68 | 12 | 3.8 | $2.4M | +4.1% | #80 of 377 |
| 3Waynesville, NC | 67 | 7 | 2.6 | $3.2M | +1.9% | #85 of 377 |
| 4Anderson Creek, NC | 66 | 20 | 4.0 | $2.1M | +12.3% | #97 of 377 |
| 5Forest City, NC | 49 | 9 | 3.4 | $2.2M | +2.1% | #206 of 377 |
| 6North Wilkesboro, NC | 47 | 8 | 3.0 | $2.5M | +0.6% | #215 of 377 |
| 7Marion, NC | 46 | 7 | 3.8 | $2.1M | +1.5% | #219 of 377 |
| 8Mount Airy, NC | 45 | 11 | 3.7 | $2.1M | +1.3% | #225 of 377 |
| 9Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 45 | 18 | 4.6 | $1.7M | +3.4% | #226 of 377 |
| 10Albemarle, NC | 44 | 15 | 5.9 | $1.4M | +9.8% | #231 of 377 |
| 18Kinston, NC | 20 | 17 | 7.3 | $978K | +1.4% | #338 of 377 |
Other business types in the Kinston area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
- Salons, barbers and spas40
- Hair salons20
- Barbershops20
- Nail salons29
- Spas and skin care44
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many barbershops are in the Kinston, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 barbershops in the Kinston area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count barbershops. No official count is published for barber shops in the Kinston area: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 39 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Kinston, NC area spend on personal care products and services?
About $16.6M a year, or $712 per household. That is 29% below the U.S. average (an index of 71, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 barbershops on map listings, it comes to $978K 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 23,351 households in the Kinston area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Kinston, NC area compare with the U.S. for barbershops?
The Kinston area has 7.3 barbershops per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 5.3. Spending per shop is $978K, 48% below the U.S. figure of $1.9M. At the U.S. ratio of barbershops to household spending, the Kinston area would have about 9, against 17 on map listings.
How fast is the Kinston, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Kinston area at 55,837 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,351 households. The median household income in the Kinston area is $45,143 a year, 44% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 14.6% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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. The Kinston area scores 20 for barbershops (low), #338 of 377 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Kinston area. 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 the Kinston area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kinston area?
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 the Kinston area. 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.