Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Delaware

Hair salons in the Dover, DE metro area

How the Dover, DE 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #295 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware

Listings
160
27 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
51
+13.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$63.2M
On personal care products and services · $884 a household
Spending per listing
$395K
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.4
4% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
194,786
+6.8% since 2020

See the hair salons around any address in the Dover 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 Dover metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

For hair salons, the Dover metro area has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #295 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

At $884 per household (12% below the U.S. average), households in the Dover metro area spend about $63.2M a year on personal care products and services. That works out to $395K per salon, 8% below the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.

There are 160 hair salons on map listings in the Dover metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 27 are chain locations, or 17%, against 14% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 22.4, 4% below the U.S. rate of 23.4.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Dover metro area was 51 in 2023, up 13.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,400 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $416K have gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Dover metro area. Population estimates show the Dover metro area grew 6.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Dover metro area compares

The same measures for Delaware 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.

Hair salons in Dover, DE metro area compared with Delaware and the U.S.
MeasureDover metro areaDelawareU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.418.423.4
Spending per listing$395K$524K$430K
Households per official establishment1,4001,4511,535
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+13.3%+8.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.8%+6.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$884$964$1,005
Median household income$74,477$84,954$80,734
Groundwork market score4060

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
51+13.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
239
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
311Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
16027 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
147The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$416K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Dover 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 Dover metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
194,786+6.8% since 2020
Households
71,424
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
586 sq. mi.
People per square mile
320
Median household income
$74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,801
Median home value
$316,600
Jobs located here
66,799
Daytime population
177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Hair salons across Delaware

Every Delaware market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for hair salons, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Delaware

Metro areas in Delaware ranked for hair salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD575,15720.9$518K+1.4%#121 of 387
1Dover, DE4016022.4$395K+6.8%#295 of 387

Other business types in the Dover metro area

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

Questions

How many hair salons are in the Dover, DE metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 160 hair salons in the Dover metro area. 27 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 51 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 13.3% from 2019. Official counts list 311 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $63.2M a year, or $884 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 160 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $395K 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 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?

The Dover metro area has 22.4 hair salons per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $395K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 147, against 160 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,400 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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. The Dover metro area scores 40 for hair salons (lower middle), #295 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.