Beauty and personal care · Metro area · South Carolina
Hair salons in the Columbia, SC metro area
How the Columbia, SC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for hair salons: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #323 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 984
- 118 chain locations (12%)
- Official establishments
- 167
- +11.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $293.4M
- On personal care products and services · $864 a household
- Spending per listing
- $298K
- 31% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 29.0
- 24% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 879,918
- +6.0% since 2020
See the hair salons around any address in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro 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
The Columbia metro area scores 37 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for hair salons, ranking #323 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on personal care products and services in the Columbia metro area comes to about $293.4M a year: $864 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $298K of household spending for each salon on map listings, 31% below the U.S. figure of $430K. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons.
The Columbia metro area has 984 hair salons on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 12% of them, against 14% across the U.S. That comes to 29.0 for every 10,000 households, 24% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.
Official counts show 167 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in the Columbia metro area in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. That is one for every 2,034 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $5.9M have gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Columbia metro area. Population estimates show the Columbia metro area grew 6.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Columbia metro area compares
The same measures for South 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 | Columbia metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 29.0 | 25.6 | 23.4 |
| Spending per listing | $298K | $341K | $430K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,034 | 2,013 | 1,535 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.4% | +21.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $864 | $871 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $68,359 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 167+11.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 739
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $26.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 2,806Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 984118 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 682The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $5.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 879,918+6.0% since 2020
- Households
- 339,601
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,703 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 229
- Median household income
- $68,359+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,243
- Median home value
- $232,400
- Jobs located here
- 410,492
- Daytime population
- 894,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for hair salons, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Columbia metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Spartanburg, SC | 48 | 358 | 25.0 | $331K | +14.3% | #210 of 387 |
| 2Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 47 | 227 | 23.8 | $408K | +12.0% | #217 of 387 |
| 3Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 41 | 944 | 28.1 | $344K | +10.7% | #290 of 387 |
| 4Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 40 | 1,032 | 26.9 | $327K | +9.0% | #301 of 387 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 39 | 3,280 | 30.5 | $318K | +10.1% | #307 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 37 | 639 | 27.6 | $315K | +4.7% | #322 of 387 |
| 5Columbia, SC | 37 | 984 | 29.0 | $298K | +6.0% | #323 of 387 |
| 6Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 36 | 400 | 25.2 | $333K | +20.9% | #333 of 387 |
| 7Florence, SC | 28 | 246 | 31.4 | $250K | +0.9% | #370 of 387 |
| 8Sumter, SC | 25 | 95 | 23.1 | $339K | −0.3% | #377 of 387 |
Other business types in the Columbia metro 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 spas38
- Hair salons37
- Barbershops45
- Nail salons43
- Spas and skin care42
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many hair salons are in the Columbia, SC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 984 hair salons in the Columbia metro area. 118 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 167 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. Official counts list 2,806 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Columbia, SC metro area spend on personal care products and services?
About $293.4M a year, or $864 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 984 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $298K 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 339,601 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbia, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for hair salons?
The Columbia metro area has 29.0 hair salons per 10,000 households, 24% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $298K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the U.S. ratio of hair salons to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 682, against 984 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,034 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Columbia, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 879,918 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 339,601 households. Median household income in the Columbia metro area is $68,359, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, 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 Columbia metro area scores 37 for hair salons (lower middle), #323 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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.