Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Hair salons in the State College, PA metro area

The hair salons in the State College, PA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #146 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
100
11 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
49
+6.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$57.8M
On personal care products and services · $980 a household
Spending per listing
$578K
34% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.9
28% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
157,393
−0.4% since 2020

See the hair salons around any address in the State College 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 State College 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

Households in the State College metro area spend about $57.8M a year on personal care products and services, or $980 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That is about $578K of household spending for each salon on map listings, 34% above the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.

There are 100 hair salons on map listings in the State College metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 11% of them, against 14% across the U.S. That is 16.9 per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 23.4.

Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the State College metro area in 2023, up 6.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,204 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Official counts list 92 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $20K has gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the State College metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the State College metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for hair salons in the State College metro area is 53 (upper middle), #146 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the State College metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 State College, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureState College metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.921.723.4
Spending per listing$578K$462K$430K
Households per official establishment1,2041,0881,535
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.5%+0.8%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$980$1,004$1,005
Median household income$74,291$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5337

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
49+6.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
270
Annual payroll, 2023
$10.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
92Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10011 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
134The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$20K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the State College 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 State College metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
157,393−0.4% since 2020
Households
59,013
Median age
38.2
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,107 sq. mi.
People per square mile
143
Median household income
$74,291+23.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,987
Median home value
$323,500
Jobs located here
66,922
Daytime population
170,905Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the State College 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.

Or open the report at the center of the State College metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Hair salons across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for hair salons, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the State College metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for hair salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Gettysburg, PA727017.1$592K+3.6%#20 of 387
2York-Hanover, PA6335819.7$518K+3.6%#72 of 387
3Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD575,15720.9$518K+1.4%#121 of 387
4Lancaster, PA5645321.3$491K+1.9%#129 of 387
5State College, PA5310016.9$578K−0.4%#146 of 387
6Lebanon, PA5111019.4$506K+2.2%#164 of 387
7Chambersburg, PA4913220.8$470K+3.0%#187 of 387
8Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ4877622.8$454K+3.0%#199 of 387
9Reading, PA4735521.7$459K+2.7%#213 of 387
10Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA4758223.7$428K+4.2%#216 of 387

Other business types in the State College metro area

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

Questions

How many hair salons are in the State College, PA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 100 hair salons in the State College metro area. 11 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 6.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 92 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the State College, PA metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $57.8M a year, or $980 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 100 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $578K 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 59,013 households in the State College metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the State College, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?

The State College metro area has 16.9 hair salons per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $578K, 34% above the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, the State College metro area would have about 134, against 100 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,204 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the State College, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the State College metro area at 157,393 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 59,013 households. Median household income in the State College metro area is $74,291, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.0%, 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 State College metro area scores 53 for hair salons (upper middle), #146 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 State College 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 State College metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the State College 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 State College 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.