Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Massachusetts
Hair salons in the Worcester, MA metro area
How the Worcester, MA 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #49 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 750
- 129 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 215
- −4.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $372.4M
- On personal care products and services · $1,109 a household
- Spending per listing
- $497K
- 15% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 22.3
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 888,502
- +3.7% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 750 hair salons in the Worcester metro area. Of those, 129 are chain locations, or 17%, against 14% across the U.S. That is 22.3 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 23.4.
Households in the Worcester metro area spend about $372.4M a year on personal care products and services, or $1,109 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. That works out to $497K per salon, 15% 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.
Official counts show 215 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Worcester metro area in 2023, down 4.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,562 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Official counts also show 1,538 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $952K have gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Worcester metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Worcester metro area grew 3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For hair salons, the Worcester metro area has a Groundwork market score of 67 (upper middle): #49 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Worcester metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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 | Worcester metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 22.3 | 24.0 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $497K | $486K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,562 | 1,084 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −4.9% | +3.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.7% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $1,109 | $1,165 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $95,939 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 67 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 215−4.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,018
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $30M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,538Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 750129 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 866The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 12
- Amount
- $952K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Worcester 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 Worcester metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 888,502+3.7% since 2020
- Households
- 335,826
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,511 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 574
- Median household income
- $95,939
- Average household income
- $124,653
- Median home value
- $423,700
- Jobs located here
- 355,505
- Daytime population
- 797,239Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for hair salons, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Worcester metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 74 | 118 | 19.0 | $556K | +10.4% | #16 of 387 |
| 2Worcester, MA | 67 | 750 | 22.3 | $497K | +3.7% | #49 of 387 |
| 3Pittsfield, MA | 65 | 100 | 17.4 | $572K | −1.2% | #54 of 387 |
| 4Barnstable Town, MA | 59 | 225 | 21.3 | $527K | +2.4% | #107 of 387 |
| 5Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 55 | 4,970 | 25.6 | $478K | +2.3% | #137 of 387 |
| 6Springfield, MA | 48 | 383 | 20.8 | $460K | +0.2% | #198 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 41 | 1,806 | 26.7 | $393K | +2.1% | #282 of 387 |
Other business types in the Worcester 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 spas59
- Hair salons67
- Barbershops60
- Nail salons57
- Spas and skin care55
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Worcester, MA metro area?
The Worcester metro area has 750 hair salons on map listings as of September 2026. 129 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 215 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, down 4.9% from 2019. Another 1,538 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Worcester, MA metro area spend on personal care products and services?
About $372.4M a year, or $1,109 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 750 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $497K per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 335,826 households in the Worcester metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Worcester, MA metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Worcester metro area has 22.3 hair salons per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $497K, 15% above the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Worcester metro area would have about 866, against 750 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,562 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Worcester, MA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Worcester metro area at 888,502 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,826 households. The median household income in the Worcester metro area is $95,939 a year, 19% 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 Worcester metro area scores 67 for hair salons (upper middle), #49 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 Worcester 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 Worcester metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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.