Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · County · Maine

Hair salons in Knox County, ME

How Knox County, ME 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 30 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #2,026 of 2,339 scored counties
#16 of 16 scored counties in Maine

Listings
55
9 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
24
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$18.1M
On personal care products and services · $980 a household
Spending per listing
$329K
23% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.8
27% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
41,117
+1.1% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Knox County is 30 (lower middle), #2,026 of 2,339 scored counties and #16 of 16 scored counties in Maine. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 55 hair salons in Knox County. Of those, 9 are chain locations, or 16%, against 14% across the U.S. That is 29.8 per 10,000 households, 27% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.

At $980 per household (2% below the U.S. average), households in Knox County spend about $18.1M a year on personal care products and services. That is about $329K of household spending for each salon on map listings, 23% 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 Knox County was 24 in 2023. That is one for every 770 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Population estimates show Knox County grew 1.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Knox County compares

The same measures for Maine 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 Knox County, ME compared with Maine and the U.S.
MeasureKnox CountyMaineU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.822.023.4
Spending per listing$329K$443K$430K
Households per official establishment7702,0381,535
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−3.9%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.1%+3.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$980$973$1,005
Median household income$74,096$74,733$80,734
Groundwork market score3055

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
18 → 24
Employees, 2023
73
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
72Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
559 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
42The 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 Knox 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 Knox County

Population, 2025 estimate
41,117+1.1% since 2020
Households
18,484
Median age
49.3
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
365 sq. mi.
People per square mile
112
Median household income
$74,096+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$99,101
Median home value
$324,900
Jobs located here
16,342
Daytime population
41,779Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Knox 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 Knox County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Hair salons across Maine

Every Maine market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Maine for hair salons, numbered among those based in Maine, with Knox County marked.

Top counties in Maine

Counties in Maine ranked for hair salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1York County, ME7219020.8$501K+4.8%#247 of 2,339
2Waldo County, ME652916.6$558K+2.6%#448 of 2,339
3Somerset County, ME653916.8$499K+2.3%#457 of 2,339
4Sagadahoc County, ME643521.3$478K+3.4%#503 of 2,339
5Oxford County, ME634619.1$459K+4.2%#553 of 2,339
6Kennebec County, ME6311821.7$425K+3.5%#561 of 2,339
7Piscataquis County, ME601416.7$513K+3.5%#679 of 2,339
8Androscoggin County, ME589019.2$474K+4.8%#781 of 2,339
9Aroostook County, ME555317.7$475K−0.7%#914 of 2,339
10Penobscot County, ME5415323.5$391K+3.8%#985 of 2,339
16Knox County, ME305529.8$329K+1.1%#2,026 of 2,339

Other business types in Knox County

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

Questions

How many hair salons are in Knox County, ME?

There are 55 hair salons on map listings in Knox County as of September 2026. 9 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023. Official counts list 72 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Knox County, ME spend on personal care products and services?

About $18.1M a year, or $980 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 55 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $329K per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,484 households in Knox County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Knox County, ME compare with the U.S. for hair salons?

Knox County has 29.8 hair salons per 10,000 households, 27% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $329K, 23% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, Knox County would have about 42, against 55 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 770 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S.

How fast is Knox County, ME growing?

Population estimates put Knox County at 41,117 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,484 households. The median household income in Knox County is $74,096 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.3% 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. 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. Knox County scores 30 for hair salons (lower middle), #2,026 of 2,339 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Knox 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 Knox County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Knox 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 Knox 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.