Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · Iowa
Hair salons in the Ottumwa, IA area
How the Ottumwa, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for hair salons: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #391 of 538 scored small-town markets
#9 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 33
- 8 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $12.5M
- On personal care products and services · $894 a household
- Spending per listing
- $379K
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 23.6
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 35,210
- −0.3% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 33 hair salons in the Ottumwa area. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 14% across the U.S. That comes to 23.6 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 23.4.
At $894 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in the Ottumwa area spend about $12.5M a year on personal care products and services. That works out to $379K per salon, 12% below 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Ottumwa area was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 2,000 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Another 51 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $59K has gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Ottumwa area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Ottumwa area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Ottumwa area scores 39 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for hair salons, ranking #391 of 538 scored small-town markets and #9 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Ottumwa area 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.
| Measure | Ottumwa area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 23.6 | 23.5 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $379K | $422K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,000 | 1,653 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −2.1% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.3% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $894 | $990 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $64,766 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 39 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 17
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $514K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 51Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 338 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 29The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $59K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 35,210−0.3% since 2020
- Households
- 13,997
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 432 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 82
- Median household income
- $64,766+40.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $82,469
- Median home value
- $125,100
- Jobs located here
- 15,175
- Daytime population
- 34,077Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ottumwa area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Ottumwa 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for hair salons, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Ottumwa area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pella, IA | 70 | 23 | 17.3 | $581K | +2.3% | #53 of 538 |
| 2Marshalltown, IA | 70 | 28 | 18.1 | $520K | −0.5% | #56 of 538 |
| 3Le Mars, IA | 65 | 24 | 23.3 | $437K | 0.0% | #96 of 538 |
| 4Clinton, IA | 60 | 40 | 20.5 | $458K | −0.9% | #153 of 538 |
| 5Spirit Lake, IA | 58 | 21 | 23.7 | $429K | +1.7% | #178 of 538 |
| 6Muscatine, IA | 54 | 38 | 21.9 | $428K | −3.0% | #229 of 538 |
| 7Fort Dodge, IA | 48 | 33 | 21.5 | $423K | −0.4% | #294 of 538 |
| 8Spencer, IA | 45 | 17 | 23.3 | $395K | −0.8% | #326 of 538 |
| 9Ottumwa, IA | 39 | 33 | 23.6 | $379K | −0.3% | #391 of 538 |
| 10Carroll, IA | 31 | 24 | 27.3 | $354K | −2.0% | #469 of 538 |
Other business types in the Ottumwa 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 spas52
- Hair salons39
- Barbershops
- Nail salons45
- Spas and skin care67
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Ottumwa, IA area?
The Ottumwa area has 33 hair salons on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023. Official counts list 51 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ottumwa, IA area spend on personal care products and services?
About $12.5M a year, or $894 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $379K per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,997 households in the Ottumwa area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ottumwa, IA area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Ottumwa area has 23.6 hair salons per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $379K, 12% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Ottumwa area would have about 29, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,000 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S.
How fast is the Ottumwa, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Ottumwa area at 35,210 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,997 households. The median household income in the Ottumwa area is $64,766 a year, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 40.1% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Ottumwa area scores 39 for hair salons (lower middle), #391 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa 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.