Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Alabama

Nail salons in the Mobile, AL metro area

How the Mobile, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for nail salons: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 11 out of 100: Low

Ranked #385 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
129
46 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
45
+32.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$130.4M
On personal care products and services · $807 a household
Spending per listing
$1M
39% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.0
33% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
411,658
−0.7% since 2020

See the nail salons around any address in the Mobile metro area

The site report maps the nail 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 Mobile 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

The Mobile metro area scores 11 (low) on the Groundwork market score for nail salons, ranking #385 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 129 nail salons in the Mobile metro area. Of those, 46 are chain locations, or 36%, against 27% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.0, 33% above the U.S. rate of 6.0.

At $807 per household (20% below the U.S. average), households in the Mobile metro area spend about $130.4M a year on personal care products and services. Spread across 129 nail salons, that is $1M per salon, 39% below the U.S. figure of $1.7M. That spending covers all personal care products and services, which nail salons share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 45 businesses with payroll in the Mobile metro area classed as nail salons, up 32.4% from 2019. That is one for every 3,593 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Mobile metro area declined 0.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Mobile metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all personal care products and services by the nail 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.

Nail salons in Mobile, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureMobile metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.06.16.0
Spending per listing$1M$1.4M$1.7M
Households per official establishment3,5936,8873,754
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+32.4%+55.9%+23.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.7%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$807$839$1,005
Median household income$58,880$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score1134

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
45+32.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
203
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
666Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
12946 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
78The 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 nail salons in the Mobile 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 Mobile metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
411,658−0.7% since 2020
Households
161,665
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,229 sq. mi.
People per square mile
336
Median household income
$58,880
Average household income
$81,726
Median home value
$190,700
Jobs located here
181,672
Daytime population
421,837Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Mobile 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 nail salons on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Nail salons across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for nail salons, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Mobile metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for nail salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Decatur, AL59274.3$2M+2.5%#110 of 387
2Huntsville, AL591386.7$1.4M+12.5%#113 of 387
3Auburn-Opelika, AL52395.1$1.6M+7.1%#174 of 387
4Tuscaloosa, AL47484.5$1.8M+2.9%#220 of 387
5Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL44375.8$1.4M+3.5%#249 of 387
6Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL41747.5$1.2M+14.8%#282 of 387
7Birmingham, AL373096.6$1.3M+1.4%#326 of 387
8Gadsden, AL29266.6$1.1M+0.4%#362 of 387
9Montgomery, AL241087.1$1.2M+0.9%#368 of 387
10Dothan, AL22447.2$1.1M+3.4%#373 of 387
12Mobile, AL111298.0$1M−0.7%#385 of 387

Other business types in the Mobile metro area

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

Questions

How many nail salons are in the Mobile, AL metro area?

There are 129 nail salons on map listings in the Mobile metro area as of September 2026. 46 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 45 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023, up 32.4% from 2019. Another 666 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Mobile, AL metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $130.4M a year, or $807 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 129 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $1M per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 161,665 households in the Mobile metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Mobile, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for nail salons?

The Mobile metro area has 8.0 nail salons per 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $1M, 39% below the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the national ratio of nail salons to household spending, the Mobile metro area would have about 78, against 129 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,593 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. The official count rose 32.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +23.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Mobile, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Mobile metro area at 411,658 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 161,665 households. The median household income in the Mobile metro area is $58,880 a year, 27% 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. 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 Mobile metro area scores 11 for nail salons (low), #385 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 Mobile metro area. It maps the nail 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 nail salons · All 56 business types in the Mobile metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mobile 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 Mobile 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.