Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · North Carolina

Hair salons in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for hair salons in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #307 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
3,280
436 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
735
+24.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1B
On personal care products and services · $969 a household
Spending per listing
$318K
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
30.5
30% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,938,830
+10.1% since 2020

See the hair salons around any address in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores 39 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for hair salons, ranking #307 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 3,280 hair salons in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 14% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 30.5, 30% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.

Households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area spend about $1B a year on personal care products and services, or $969 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Spread across 3,280 hair salons, that is $318K per salon, 26% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 735 businesses with payroll in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area classed as beauty salons, up 24.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,464 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 29 SBA-backed loans worth $5.2M have gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area grew 10.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households30.526.123.4
Spending per listing$318K$344K$430K
Households per official establishment1,4641,9241,535
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+24.6%+14.7%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.1%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$969$897$1,005
Median household income$83,304$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score3941

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
735+24.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,362
Annual payroll, 2023
$123.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
8,621Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3,280436 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,423The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
29
Amount
$5.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,938,830+10.1% since 2020
Households
1,076,260
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
5,598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
495
Median household income
$83,304+31.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,495
Median home value
$356,400
Jobs located here
1,400,944
Daytime population
2,846,416Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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.

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Hair salons across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for hair salons, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area marked.

Top metro areas in North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina ranked for hair salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Durham-Chapel Hill, NC6951420.7$475K+7.5%#40 of 387
2Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC559621.8$434K+10.3%#138 of 387
3Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC5130720.5$397K+3.2%#175 of 387
4Raleigh-Cary, NC481,67929.2$360K+12.6%#208 of 387
5Wilmington, NC4549424.8$368K+15.9%#241 of 387
6Winston-Salem, NC4467824.1$352K+5.3%#249 of 387
7Jacksonville, NC4418825.0$335K+6.0%#253 of 387
8Burlington, NC4319127.3$307K+8.5%#263 of 387
9Rocky Mount, NC4213823.6$338K+2.8%#271 of 387
10Asheville, NC3936622.7$392K+3.6%#304 of 387
11Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC393,28030.5$318K+10.1%#307 of 387

Other business types in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

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

Questions

How many hair salons are in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area?

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area has 3,280 hair salons on map listings as of September 2026. 436 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 735 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 24.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 8,621 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $1B a year, or $969 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3,280 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $318K per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,076,260 households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area has 30.5 hair salons per 10,000 households, 30% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $318K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area would have about 2,423, against 3,280 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,464 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 24.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area at 2,938,830 people in 2025, up 10.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,076,260 households. The median household income in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area is $83,304 a year, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.8% 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. The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores 39 for hair salons (lower middle), #307 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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.