Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Illinois

Nail salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area

The nail salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #229 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois

Listings
2,361
617 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
857
+24.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$4B
On personal care products and services · $1,110 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.5
8% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
9,434,123
0.0% since 2020

See the nail salons around any address in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,361 nail salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. 617 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 27% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.5, 8% above the U.S. rate of 6.0.

Households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area spend about $4B a year on personal care products and services, or $1,110 per household, 11% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1.7M per salon, 3% above 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area was 857 in 2023, up 24.5% from 2019. That is one for every 4,252 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Official counts also show 10,397 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 49 SBA-backed loans worth $12M have gone to businesses classed as nail salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For nail salons, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #229 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois.

How the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureChicago-Naperville-Elgin metro areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.55.76.0
Spending per listing$1.7M$1.9M$1.7M
Households per official establishment4,2525,2033,754
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+24.5%+24.6%+23.2%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$1,110$1,063$1,005
Median household income$90,887$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score4643

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
857+24.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,484
Annual payroll, 2023
$76.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
10,397Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,361617 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,422The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
49
Amount
$12M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as nail salons in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
9,434,1230.0% since 2020
Households
3,643,783
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
6,923 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,354
Median household income
$90,887
Average household income
$125,950
Median home value
$323,000
Jobs located here
4,599,202
Daytime population
9,509,530Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Nail salons across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for nail salons, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois ranked for nail salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Champaign-Urbana, IL62404.1$2.3M+1.5%#83 of 387
2Peoria, IL61694.5$2.2M−1.3%#93 of 387
3Bloomington, IL60334.7$2.2M+0.1%#96 of 387
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL58174.4$2.1M+1.7%#119 of 387
4Kankakee, IL57174.1$2.4M−1.7%#125 of 387
St. Louis, MO-IL546215.4$1.9M−0.2%#157 of 387
5Rockford, IL54695.1$1.9M−0.3%#159 of 387
6Springfield, IL51535.9$1.7M−1.2%#186 of 387
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL50915.6$1.7M−0.9%#192 of 387
Paducah, KY-IL47143.4$2.5M−1.2%#217 of 387
7Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN462,3616.5$1.7M0.0%#229 of 387

Other business types in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

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

Questions

How many nail salons are in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area?

There are 2,361 nail salons on map listings in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area as of September 2026. 617 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 857 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023, up 24.5% from 2019. Another 10,397 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $4B a year, or $1,110 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,361 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,643,783 households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compare with the U.S. for nail salons?

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 6.5 nail salons per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $1.7M, 3% above the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the national ratio of nail salons to household spending, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area would have about 2,422, against 2,361 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,252 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. The official count rose 24.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +23.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area at 9,434,123 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,643,783 households. The median household income in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area is $90,887 a year, 13% above 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area scores 46 for nail salons (lower middle), #229 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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.