Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · Minnesota
Hair salons in the Willmar, MN area
How the Willmar, MN 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 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #110 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 36
- 11 chain locations (31%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $17.4M
- On personal care products and services · $988 a household
- Spending per listing
- $483K
- 12% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.5
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 44,720
- +2.3% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Willmar 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 Willmar 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 36 hair salons in the Willmar area. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 31%, against 14% across the U.S. That comes to 20.5 for every 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 23.4.
Households in the Willmar area spend about $17.4M a year on personal care products and services, or $988 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That is about $483K of household spending for each salon on map listings, 12% 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 10 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Willmar area in 2023. That is one for every 1,760 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Official counts list 89 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Willmar area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Willmar area scores 64 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for hair salons, ranking #110 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Willmar area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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 | Willmar area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.5 | 19.4 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $483K | $564K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,760 | 1,517 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −4.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $988 | $1,091 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $76,592 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10
- Employees, 2023
- 39
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 89Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3611 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 40The 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 the Willmar 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 Willmar area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 44,720+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 17,603
- Median age
- 39.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 797 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 55
- Median household income
- $76,592+27.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,382
- Median home value
- $243,200
- Jobs located here
- 24,957
- Daytime population
- 46,873Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Willmar 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 Willmar 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for hair salons, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Willmar area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Faribault-Northfield, MN | 77 | 46 | 19.6 | $527K | +4.2% | #21 of 538 |
| 2Hutchinson, MN | 75 | 28 | 18.4 | $547K | −0.3% | #28 of 538 |
| 3Austin, MN | 72 | 24 | 15.3 | $633K | +2.3% | #42 of 538 |
| Wahpeton, ND-MN | 69 | 16 | 16.8 | $580K | 0.0% | #60 of 538 |
| 4Bemidji, MN | 69 | 32 | 17.6 | $538K | +1.8% | #63 of 538 |
| 5Marshall, MN | 68 | 18 | 17.8 | $549K | +1.0% | #71 of 538 |
| 6Detroit Lakes, MN | 66 | 30 | 20.8 | $465K | +0.9% | #84 of 538 |
| 7Red Wing, MN | 64 | 39 | 19.8 | $515K | +1.3% | #105 of 538 |
| 8Winona, MN | 64 | 39 | 19.3 | $496K | +1.8% | #107 of 538 |
| 9Fergus Falls, MN | 64 | 50 | 19.9 | $487K | +1.6% | #108 of 538 |
| 10Willmar, MN | 64 | 36 | 20.5 | $483K | +2.3% | #110 of 538 |
Other business types in the Willmar 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 spas63
- Hair salons64
- Barbershops80
- Nail salons69
- 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 Willmar, MN area?
There are 36 hair salons on map listings in the Willmar area as of September 2026. 11 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023. Official counts also show 89 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Willmar, MN area spend on personal care products and services?
About $17.4M a year, or $988 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 36 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $483K per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,603 households in the Willmar area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Willmar, MN area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Willmar area has 20.5 hair salons per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $483K, 12% above the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Willmar area would have about 40, against 36 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,760 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S.
How fast is the Willmar, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Willmar area at 44,720 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 17,603 households. The median household income in the Willmar area is $76,592 a year, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.0% 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 Willmar area scores 64 for hair salons (upper middle), #110 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 Willmar 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 Willmar area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Willmar 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 Willmar 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.