Beauty and personal care · County · Montana
Hair salons in Custer County, MT
How Custer County, MT 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 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,921 of 2,339 scored counties
#16 of 18 scored counties in Montana
- Listings
- 14
- 3 chain locations (21%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $4.6M
- On personal care products and services · $914 a household
- Spending per listing
- $329K
- 24% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 27.8
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 12,034
- +1.5% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in Custer 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 Custer County. 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
Custer County scores 34 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for hair salons, ranking #1,921 of 2,339 scored counties and #16 of 18 scored counties in Montana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 hair salons in Custer County. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 21%, against 14% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 27.8, 19% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.
At $914 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in Custer County spend about $4.6M a year on personal care products and services. That works out to $329K per salon, 24% 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.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in Custer County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Population estimates put the population change in Custer County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Custer County compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Custer County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 27.8 | 22.8 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $329K | $423K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 2,048 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +16.7% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.5% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $914 | $964 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $70,605 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 29Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 143 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The 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 Custer 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 Custer County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 12,034+1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 5,038
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 3,783 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 3
- Median household income
- $70,605+33.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,295
- Median home value
- $219,100
- Jobs located here
- 5,790
- Daytime population
- 11,387Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Custer 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 Custer County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHair salons across Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Montana for hair salons, numbered among those based in Montana, with Custer County marked.
Top counties in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jefferson County, MT | 95 | 5 | 10.0 | $1.1M | +9.8% | #3 of 2,339 |
| 2Lake County, MT | 83 | 15 | 11.9 | $759K | +6.9% | #51 of 2,339 |
| 3Sanders County, MT | 78 | 6 | 11.0 | $763K | +12.9% | #98 of 2,339 |
| 4Carbon County, MT | 78 | 9 | 19.3 | $519K | +9.1% | #108 of 2,339 |
| 5Park County, MT | 64 | 19 | 22.7 | $425K | +5.7% | #509 of 2,339 |
| 6Fergus County, MT | 60 | 9 | 17.0 | $511K | +3.1% | #681 of 2,339 |
| 7Lewis and Clark County, MT | 57 | 73 | 23.4 | $430K | +5.8% | #837 of 2,339 |
| 8Ravalli County, MT | 57 | 47 | 25.2 | $373K | +9.4% | #843 of 2,339 |
| 9Missoula County, MT | 56 | 103 | 19.6 | $503K | +4.4% | #870 of 2,339 |
| 10Gallatin County, MT | 52 | 142 | 27.7 | $399K | +7.7% | #1,085 of 2,339 |
| 16Custer County, MT | 34 | 14 | 27.8 | $329K | +1.5% | #1,921 of 2,339 |
Other business types in Custer County
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
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in Custer County, MT?
There are 14 hair salons on map listings in Custer County as of September 2026. 3 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. No official count is published for beauty salons in Custer County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 29 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Custer County, MT spend on personal care products and services?
About $4.6M a year, or $914 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 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 5,038 households in Custer County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Custer County, MT compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
Custer County has 27.8 hair salons per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $329K, 24% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, Custer County would have about 11, against 14 on map listings.
How fast is Custer County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Custer County at 12,034 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,038 households. The median household income in Custer County is $70,605 a year, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.3% 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. Custer County scores 34 for hair salons (lower middle), #1,921 of 2,339 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Custer 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 Custer County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Custer 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 Custer 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.