Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · County · South Carolina

Hair salons in Richland County, SC

The hair salons in Richland County, SC, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,860 of 2,339 scored counties
#29 of 44 scored counties in South Carolina

Listings
598
58 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
81
+1.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$143.3M
On personal care products and services · $853 a household
Spending per listing
$240K
44% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
35.6
52% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
434,956
+4.6% since 2020

See the hair salons around any address in Richland County

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 Richland County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

The Groundwork market score for hair salons in Richland County is 36 (lower middle), #1,860 of 2,339 scored counties and #29 of 44 scored counties in South Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 598 hair salons in Richland County. Chain locations make up 10% of them, against 14% across the U.S. That comes to 35.6 for every 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 23.4.

Household spending on personal care products and services in Richland County comes to about $143.3M a year: $853 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $240K of household spending for each salon on map listings, 44% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in Richland County was 81 in 2023, up 1.3% from 2019. That is one for every 2,074 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $5.7M have gone to businesses classed as beauty salons in Richland County. Population estimates put the population change in Richland County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Richland County 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.

Hair salons in Richland County, SC compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureRichland CountySouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households35.625.623.4
Spending per listing$240K$341K$430K
Households per official establishment2,0742,0131,535
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+1.3%+21.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.6%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$853$871$1,005
Median household income$63,784$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score3642

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
80 → 81+1.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
379
Annual payroll, 2023
$15.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
1,635Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
59858 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
333The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$5.7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as beauty salons in Richland County, 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 Richland County

Population, 2025 estimate
434,956+4.6% since 2020
Households
167,961
Median age
36.8
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
757 sq. mi.
People per square mile
557
Median household income
$63,784+16.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$90,966
Median home value
$242,800
Jobs located here
234,516
Daytime population
484,051Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Richland County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Richland County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Hair salons across South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in South Carolina for hair salons, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with Richland County marked.

Top counties in South Carolina

Counties in South Carolina ranked for hair salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Edgefield County, SC771212.3$687K+16.1%#118 of 2,339
2Lancaster County, SC728220.4$455K+18.3%#248 of 2,339
3Berkeley County, SC6519020.3$460K+18.7%#464 of 2,339
4Saluda County, SC64911.7$652K+4.1%#480 of 2,339
5Calhoun County, SC6258.1$977K+0.6%#563 of 2,339
6Abbeville County, SC621212.3$647K+2.3%#570 of 2,339
7Laurens County, SC624416.3$470K+6.2%#603 of 2,339
8York County, SC6226223.0$431K+8.1%#610 of 2,339
9Pickens County, SC619618.3$444K+5.7%#652 of 2,339
10Aiken County, SC6114520.7$420K+7.3%#657 of 2,339
29Richland County, SC3659835.6$240K+4.6%#1,860 of 2,339

Other business types in Richland County

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

Questions

How many hair salons are in Richland County, SC?

There are 598 hair salons on map listings in Richland County as of September 2026. 58 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and beauty salons. Official counts show 81 businesses with payroll classed as beauty salons in 2023, up 1.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,635 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Richland County, SC spend on personal care products and services?

About $143.3M a year, or $853 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 598 hair salons on map listings, it comes to $240K per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only hair salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 167,961 households in Richland County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Richland County, SC compare with the U.S. for hair salons?

Richland County has 35.6 hair salons per 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 23.4. Spending per salon is $240K, 44% below the U.S. figure of $430K. At the national ratio of hair salons to household spending, Richland County would have about 333, against 598 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,074 households, against one for every 1,535 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Richland County, SC growing?

Population estimates put Richland County at 434,956 people in 2025, up 4.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 167,961 households. The median household income in Richland County is $63,784 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 16.5% 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. Richland County scores 36 for hair salons (lower middle), #1,860 of 2,339 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Richland County. 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 Richland County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Richland County?

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 Richland County. 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.