Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Hair salons in the Forest City, NC area
The hair salons in the Forest City, NC area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #301 of 538 scored small-town markets
#6 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 57
- 9 chain locations (16%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $20M
- On personal care products and services · $749 a household
- Spending per listing
- $350K
- 19% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.4
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 65,745
- +2.1% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Forest 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 Forest 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
At $749 per household (25% below the U.S. average), households in the Forest City area spend about $20M a year on personal care products and services. That is about $350K of household spending for each salon on map listings, 19% below the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.
The Forest City area has 57 hair salons on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (16%) are chain locations, against 14% across the U.S. That is 21.4 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 23.4.
Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Forest City area in 2023. That is one for every 5,328 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Another 170 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates show the Forest City area grew 2.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for hair salons in the Forest City area is 48 (lower middle), #301 of 538 scored small-town markets and #6 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Forest 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 | Forest City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 21.4 | 26.1 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $350K | $344K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 5,328 | 1,924 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +14.7% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $749 | $897 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $51,410 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 11
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $142K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 170Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 579 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 46The 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 Forest 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 Forest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 65,745+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 26,642
- Median age
- 44.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 565 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 115
- Median household income
- $51,410+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,230
- Median home value
- $201,800
- Jobs located here
- 19,241
- Daytime population
- 55,091Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forest 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 Forest 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 Forest 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 |
Other business types in the Forest 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 spas42
- Hair salons48
- Barbershops49
- Nail salons42
- Spas and skin care40
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Forest City, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 57 hair salons in the Forest City area. 9 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023. Official counts list 170 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Forest City, NC area spend on personal care products and services?
About $20M a year, or $749 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 57 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $350K 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 26,642 households in the Forest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forest City, NC area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Forest City area has 21.4 hair salons per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $350K, 19% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Forest City area would have about 46, against 57 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,328 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S.
How fast is the Forest City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Forest City area at 65,745 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,642 households. Median household income in the Forest City area is $51,410, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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 Forest City area scores 48 for hair salons (lower middle), #301 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 Forest 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 Forest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forest 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 Forest 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.