Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Hair salons in the Elizabeth City, NC area
How the Elizabeth City, NC 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 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #441 of 538 scored small-town markets
#19 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 53
- 7 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $13M
- On personal care products and services · $824 a household
- Spending per listing
- $245K
- 43% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 33.6
- 44% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,201
- +4.5% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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
For hair salons, the Elizabeth City area has a Groundwork market score of 35 (lower middle): #441 of 538 scored small-town markets and #19 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $824 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Elizabeth City area spend about $13M a year on personal care products and services. Spread across 53 hair salons, that is $245K per salon, 43% below the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.
There are 53 hair salons on map listings in the Elizabeth City area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 14% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 33.6, 44% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.
Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Elizabeth City area in 2023. That is one for every 2,255 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Elizabeth City area grew 4.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Elizabeth City 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.
| Measure | Elizabeth City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 33.6 | 26.1 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $245K | $344K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,255 | 1,924 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +14.7% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $824 | $897 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $66,589 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 31
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 121Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 537 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 30The 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 Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,201+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,785
- Median age
- 41.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 227 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 180
- Median household income
- $66,589
- Average household income
- $85,046
- Median home value
- $234,600
- Jobs located here
- 15,323
- Daytime population
- 38,788Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for hair salons, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Elizabeth City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 79 | 77 | 15.4 | $554K | +12.3% | #14 of 538 |
| 2Kill Devil Hills, NC | 56 | 39 | 23.2 | $428K | +3.3% | #200 of 538 |
| 3Brevard, NC | 51 | 28 | 19.2 | $440K | +2.9% | #264 of 538 |
| 4Sanford, NC | 51 | 67 | 26.6 | $309K | +10.8% | #271 of 538 |
| 5North Wilkesboro, NC | 50 | 50 | 18.4 | $397K | +0.6% | #279 of 538 |
| 6Forest City, NC | 48 | 57 | 21.4 | $350K | +2.1% | #301 of 538 |
| 7Albemarle, NC | 48 | 60 | 23.8 | $340K | +9.8% | #304 of 538 |
| 8Roanoke Rapids, NC | 46 | 47 | 16.6 | $433K | −4.3% | #312 of 538 |
| 9Henderson, NC | 46 | 30 | 18.6 | $401K | +0.2% | #313 of 538 |
| 10Morehead City, NC | 45 | 76 | 23.8 | $375K | +4.1% | #327 of 538 |
| 19Elizabeth City, NC | 35 | 53 | 33.6 | $245K | +4.5% | #441 of 538 |
Other business types in the Elizabeth City 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 spas35
- Hair salons35
- Barbershops43
- Nail salons32
- Spas and skin care61
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Elizabeth City, NC area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 53 hair salons in the Elizabeth City area. 7 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023. Official counts list 121 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Elizabeth City, NC area spend on personal care products and services?
About $13M a year, or $824 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 53 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $245K per salon. That spending covers all personal care products and services, which hair salons share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,785 households in the Elizabeth City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Elizabeth City, NC area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Elizabeth City area has 33.6 hair salons per 10,000 households, 44% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $245K, 43% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Elizabeth City area would have about 30, against 53 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,255 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S.
How fast is the Elizabeth City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Elizabeth City area at 42,201 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,785 households. Median household income in the Elizabeth City area is $66,589, 18% below 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. 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 Elizabeth City area scores 35 for hair salons (lower middle), #441 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 Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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.