Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Arkansas
Hair salons in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area
The hair salons in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #342 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 224
- 42 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 33
- +3.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $72M
- On personal care products and services · $791 a household
- Spending per listing
- $321K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 24.6
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 234,140
- +3.1% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith metro area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for hair salons, ranking #342 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Households in the Fort Smith metro area spend about $72M a year on personal care products and services, or $791 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That is about $321K of household spending for each salon on map listings, 25% below the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.
The Fort Smith metro area has 224 hair salons on map listings as of September 2026. 42 of them (19%) are chain locations, against 14% across the U.S. That is 24.6 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.
In 2023, official counts showed 33 businesses with payroll in the Fort Smith metro area classed as beauty salons, up 3.3% from 2019. That is one for every 2,757 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Fort Smith metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Fort Smith metro area compares
The same measures for Arkansas 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 | Fort Smith metro area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 24.6 | 23.0 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $321K | $354K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,757 | 2,662 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.3% | +16.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $791 | $815 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $58,468 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 33+3.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 81
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 542Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 22442 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 167The 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 beauty salons in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 234,140+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 90,992
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,800 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 128
- Median household income
- $58,468
- Average household income
- $82,344
- Median home value
- $171,200
- Jobs located here
- 98,120
- Daytime population
- 234,865Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith 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 Arkansas
Every Arkansas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Arkansas for hair salons, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Smith metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | 51 | 519 | 24.1 | $394K | +13.1% | #176 of 387 |
| 2Jonesboro, AR | 38 | 143 | 26.9 | $296K | +3.6% | #316 of 387 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 36 | 1,256 | 24.0 | $359K | −0.3% | #330 of 387 |
| 3Fort Smith, AR-OK | 35 | 224 | 24.6 | $321K | +3.1% | #342 of 387 |
| 4Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 33 | 836 | 26.8 | $320K | +3.8% | #352 of 387 |
| Texarkana, TX-AR | 27 | 175 | 31.1 | $250K | −0.4% | #372 of 387 |
| 5Hot Springs, AR | 24 | 102 | 23.4 | $334K | −0.6% | #379 of 387 |
Other business types in the Fort Smith 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 spas34
- Hair salons35
- Barbershops29
- Nail salons32
- Spas and skin care34
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 224 hair salons in the Fort Smith metro area. 42 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 33 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 3.3% from 2019. Another 542 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area spend on personal care products and services?
About $72M a year, or $791 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 224 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $321K 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 90,992 households in the Fort Smith metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Fort Smith metro area has 24.6 hair salons per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $321K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Fort Smith metro area would have about 167, against 224 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,757 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Smith metro area at 234,140 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,992 households. Median household income in the Fort Smith metro area is $58,468, 28% 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 Fort Smith metro area scores 35 for hair salons (lower middle), #342 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 Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith 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.