Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · West Virginia

Barbershops in the Elkins, WV area

The barbershops in the Elkins, WV area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 13 out of 100: Low

Ranked #354 of 377 scored small-town markets
#4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia

Listings
7
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$8.2M
On personal care products and services · $767 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
38% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.6
25% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
26,882
−3.6% since 2020

See the barbershops around any address in the Elkins 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 Elkins area. 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

For barbershops, the Elkins area has a Groundwork market score of 13 (low): #354 of 377 scored small-town markets and #4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Household spending on personal care products and services in the Elkins area comes to about $8.2M a year: $767 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 38% below the U.S. figure of $1.9M. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only barbershops.

The Elkins area has 7 barbershops on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.6 per 10,000 households, 25% above the U.S. rate of 5.3.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for barber shops in the Elkins area, since they leave out counts under 3. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $185K has gone to businesses classed as barber shops in the Elkins area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Elkins area declined 3.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Elkins area compares

The same measures for West Virginia 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 Elkins, WV area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureElkins areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.64.35.3
Spending per listing$1.2M$1.9M$1.9M
Households per official establishmentn/a42,86216,589
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/an/a+28.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.6%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$767$802$1,005
Median household income$52,757$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score1336

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
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
70 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$185K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as barber shops in the Elkins 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 Elkins area

Population, 2025 estimate
26,882−3.6% since 2020
Households
10,678
Median age
44.6
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,040 sq. mi.
People per square mile
27
Median household income
$52,757+21.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,437
Median home value
$144,800
Jobs located here
10,659
Daytime population
26,808Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Elkins 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 Elkins area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Barbershops across West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in West Virginia for barbershops, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Elkins area marked.

Top small-town markets in West Virginia

Small-town markets in West Virginia ranked for barbershops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fairmont, WV5473.0$2.8M−1.2%#164 of 377
Cumberland, MD-WV51112.9$2.8M−1.3%#188 of 377
2Clarksburg, WV42133.7$2.2M−2.4%#241 of 377
3Bluefield, WV-VA17204.9$1.5M−3.8%#345 of 377
4Elkins, WV1376.6$1.2M−3.6%#354 of 377

Other business types in the Elkins area

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

Questions

How many barbershops are in the Elkins, WV area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 7 barbershops in the Elkins area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count barbershops. No official count is published for barber shops in the Elkins area: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Elkins, WV area spend on personal care products and services?

About $8.2M a year, or $767 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 barbershops on map listings, it comes to $1.2M 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 10,678 households in the Elkins area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Elkins, WV area compare with the U.S. for barbershops?

The Elkins area has 6.6 barbershops per 10,000 households, 25% above the U.S. rate of 5.3. Spending per shop is $1.2M, 38% below the U.S. figure of $1.9M. At the U.S. ratio of barbershops to household spending, the Elkins area would have about 4, against 7 on map listings.

How fast is the Elkins, WV area growing?

Population estimates put the Elkins area at 26,882 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,678 households. The median household income in the Elkins area is $52,757 a year, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.8% 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 Elkins area scores 13 for barbershops (low), #354 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 Elkins 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 Elkins area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elkins 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 Elkins 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.