Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Alabama
Hair salons in the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area
How the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for hair salons: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #37 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama
- Listings
- 119
- 33 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 30
- +11.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $63.8M
- On personal care products and services · $832 a household
- Spending per listing
- $536K
- 25% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.5
- 34% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 208,013
- +7.1% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Auburn-Opelika metro area
The site report maps the hair salons 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 Auburn-Opelika metro 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 Groundwork market score for hair salons in the Auburn-Opelika metro area is 69 (upper middle), #37 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for hair salons.
At $832 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in the Auburn-Opelika metro area spend about $63.8M a year on personal care products and services. Spread across 119 hair salons, that is $536K per salon, 25% above the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.
There are 119 hair salons on map listings in the Auburn-Opelika metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 28% of them, against 14% across the U.S. That comes to 15.5 for every 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 23.4.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Auburn-Opelika metro area was 30 in 2023, up 11.1% from 2019. That is one for every 2,556 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $438K have gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Auburn-Opelika metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Auburn-Opelika metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +7.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Auburn-Opelika metro area compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all personal care products and services by the hair salons 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 | Auburn-Opelika metro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.5 | 23.0 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $536K | $366K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,556 | 2,699 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.1% | +4.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.1% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $832 | $839 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $63,649 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 69 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 30+11.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 150
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 531Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11933 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 148The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $438K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Auburn-Opelika metro 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 Auburn-Opelika metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 208,013+7.1% since 2020
- Households
- 76,673
- Median age
- 37.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,216 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 164
- Median household income
- $63,649
- Average household income
- $87,657
- Median home value
- $247,500
- Jobs located here
- 69,655
- Daytime population
- 195,094Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Auburn-Opelika metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the hair salons on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Auburn-Opelika metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHair salons across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for hair salons, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Auburn-Opelika metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Auburn-Opelika, AL | 69 | 119 | 15.5 | $536K | +7.1% | #37 of 387 |
| 2Huntsville, AL | 52 | 575 | 27.9 | $347K | +12.5% | #162 of 387 |
| 3Tuscaloosa, AL | 48 | 197 | 18.6 | $440K | +2.9% | #201 of 387 |
| 4Decatur, AL | 46 | 140 | 22.3 | $381K | +2.5% | #229 of 387 |
| 5Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 44 | 285 | 28.9 | $317K | +14.8% | #254 of 387 |
| 6Montgomery, AL | 41 | 317 | 20.9 | $398K | +0.9% | #280 of 387 |
| 7Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 40 | 161 | 25.3 | $321K | +3.5% | #302 of 387 |
| 8Birmingham, AL | 36 | 1,160 | 24.9 | $357K | +1.4% | #331 of 387 |
| 9Dothan, AL | 35 | 145 | 23.8 | $333K | +3.4% | #341 of 387 |
| 10Gadsden, AL | 31 | 101 | 25.6 | $295K | +0.4% | #363 of 387 |
Other business types in the Auburn-Opelika metro 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 spas72
- Hair salons69
- Barbershops61
- Nail salons52
- Spas and skin care72
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 119 hair salons in the Auburn-Opelika metro area. 33 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 30 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 11.1% from 2019. Another 531 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area spend on personal care products and services?
About $63.8M a year, or $832 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 119 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $536K per salon. That spending covers all personal care products and services, which hair salons share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 76,673 households in the Auburn-Opelika metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Auburn-Opelika metro area has 15.5 hair salons per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $536K, 25% above the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Auburn-Opelika metro area would have about 148, against 119 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,556 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Auburn-Opelika metro area at 208,013 people in 2025, up 7.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 76,673 households. Median household income in the Auburn-Opelika metro area is $63,649, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. The Auburn-Opelika metro area scores 69 for hair salons (upper middle), #37 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Auburn-Opelika metro area. It maps the hair salons 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 hair salons · All 56 business types in the Auburn-Opelika metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Auburn-Opelika metro 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 Auburn-Opelika metro 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.