Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Illinois
Hair salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area
The hair salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #214 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 8,887
- 1,112 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 2,935
- +1.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $4B
- On personal care products and services · $1,110 a household
- Spending per listing
- $455K
- 6% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 24.4
- 4% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 9,434,123
- 0.0% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 8,887 hair salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. Of those, 1,112 are chain locations, or 13%, against 14% across the U.S. That comes to 24.4 for every 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.
At $1,110 per household (11% above the U.S. average), households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area spend about $4B a year on personal care products and services. That works out to $455K per salon, 6% above the U.S. figure of $430K. That spending covers all personal care products and services, which hair salons share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 2,935 businesses with payroll in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area classed as beauty salons, up 1.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,241 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Official counts also show 27,065 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 142 SBA-backed loans worth $26.2M have gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.
Population estimates show the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For hair salons, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #214 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois.
How the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area compares
The same measures for Illinois 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 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 24.4 | 23.3 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $455K | $455K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,241 | 1,505 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +1.8% | 0.0% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $1,110 | $1,063 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $90,887 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 2,935+1.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 15,408
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $503.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 27,065Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8,8871,112 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 9,402The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 142
- Amount
- $26.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 9,434,1230.0% since 2020
- Households
- 3,643,783
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 6,923 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,354
- Median household income
- $90,887
- Average household income
- $125,950
- Median home value
- $323,000
- Jobs located here
- 4,599,202
- Daytime population
- 9,509,530Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for hair salons, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 60 | 2,407 | 20.7 | $502K | −0.2% | #100 of 387 |
| 1Bloomington, IL | 55 | 149 | 21.2 | $483K | +0.1% | #136 of 387 |
| 2Decatur, IL | 54 | 85 | 19.6 | $465K | −4.3% | #143 of 387 |
| 3Champaign-Urbana, IL | 51 | 202 | 20.6 | $459K | +1.5% | #167 of 387 |
| 4Peoria, IL | 51 | 358 | 23.3 | $421K | −1.3% | #172 of 387 |
| 5Rockford, IL | 50 | 303 | 22.4 | $423K | −0.3% | #184 of 387 |
| 6Kankakee, IL | 49 | 96 | 23.4 | $417K | −1.7% | #193 of 387 |
| 7Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 47 | 8,887 | 24.4 | $455K | 0.0% | #214 of 387 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 46 | 375 | 23.2 | $421K | −0.9% | #226 of 387 |
| Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 46 | 84 | 21.9 | $419K | +1.7% | #227 of 387 |
Other business types in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 spas46
- Hair salons47
- Barbershops48
- Nail salons46
- Spas and skin care48
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area?
There are 8,887 hair salons on map listings in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area as of September 2026. 1,112 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 2,935 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 1.8% from 2019. Another 27,065 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area spend on personal care products and services?
About $4B a year, or $1,110 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8,887 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $455K per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,643,783 households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 24.4 hair salons per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $455K, 6% above the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area would have about 9,402, against 8,887 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,241 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area at 9,434,123 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,643,783 households. The median household income in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area is $90,887 a year, 13% above 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area scores 47 for hair salons (lower middle), #214 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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.