Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · County · Iowa

Hair salons in Cerro Gordo County, IA

How Cerro Gordo County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for hair salons: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 20 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,225 of 2,339 scored counties
#69 of 72 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
67
13 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
20
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$18.4M
On personal care products and services · $943 a household
Spending per listing
$275K
36% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
34.3
47% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
42,372
−1.5% since 2020

See the hair salons around any address in Cerro Gordo County

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 Cerro Gordo County. 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

The Groundwork market score for hair salons in Cerro Gordo County is 20 (low), #2,225 of 2,339 scored counties and #69 of 72 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Households in Cerro Gordo County spend about $18.4M a year on personal care products and services, or $943 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. Spread across 67 hair salons, that is $275K per salon, 36% below the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.

Cerro Gordo County has 67 hair salons on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 13 are chain locations, or 19%, against 14% across the U.S. That comes to 34.3 for every 10,000 households, 47% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in Cerro Gordo County was 20 in 2023. That is one for every 977 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $500K has gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in Cerro Gordo County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cerro Gordo County declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Cerro Gordo County compares

The same measures for Iowa 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 Cerro Gordo County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureCerro Gordo CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households34.323.523.4
Spending per listing$275K$422K$430K
Households per official establishment9771,6531,535
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.1%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.5%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$943$990$1,005
Median household income$68,189$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score2039

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
18 → 20
Employees, 2023
72
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
86Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6713 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
43The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$500K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in Cerro Gordo County, 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 Cerro Gordo County

Population, 2025 estimate
42,372−1.5% since 2020
Households
19,538
Median age
45.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
568 sq. mi.
People per square mile
75
Median household income
$68,189+26.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,087
Median home value
$166,400
Jobs located here
22,381
Daytime population
45,188Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cerro Gordo County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Cerro Gordo County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Hair salons across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for hair salons, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Cerro Gordo County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for hair salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Benton County, IA821211.8$882K+1.8%#59 of 2,339
2Madison County, IA79913.4$787K+3.8%#90 of 2,339
3Warren County, IA763316.0$685K+9.0%#135 of 2,339
4Delaware County, IA721013.6$717K+1.3%#230 of 2,339
5Dallas County, IA709823.1$517K+17.8%#297 of 2,339
6Guthrie County, IA67919.6$515K+1.6%#397 of 2,339
7Marion County, IA652317.3$581K+2.3%#445 of 2,339
8Mills County, IA651120.4$526K+2.6%#451 of 2,339
9Jones County, IA641518.3$524K+2.9%#497 of 2,339
10Marshall County, IA642818.1$520K−0.5%#498 of 2,339
69Cerro Gordo County, IA206734.3$275K−1.5%#2,225 of 2,339

Other business types in Cerro Gordo County

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

Questions

How many hair salons are in Cerro Gordo County, IA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 67 hair salons in Cerro Gordo County. 13 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023. Official counts list 86 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Cerro Gordo County, IA spend on personal care products and services?

About $18.4M a year, or $943 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 67 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $275K 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 19,538 households in Cerro Gordo County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cerro Gordo County, IA compare with the U.S. for hair salons?

Cerro Gordo County has 34.3 hair salons per 10,000 households, 47% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $275K, 36% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, Cerro Gordo County would have about 43, against 67 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 977 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S.

How fast is Cerro Gordo County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Cerro Gordo County at 42,372 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,538 households. Median household income in Cerro Gordo County is $68,189, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.4%, 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. Cerro Gordo County scores 20 for hair salons (low), #2,225 of 2,339 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cerro Gordo County. 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 Cerro Gordo County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cerro Gordo County?

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 Cerro Gordo County. 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.