Beauty and personal care · County · Iowa
Nail salons in Story County, IA
The nail salons in Story County, IA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #150 of 1,328 scored counties
#5 of 22 scored counties in Iowa
- Listings
- 15
- 7 chain locations (47%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $38M
- On personal care products and services · $976 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.5M
- 52% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.9
- 35% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 101,291
- +2.7% since 2020
See the nail salons around any address in Story County
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 Story County. 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
Household spending on personal care products and services in Story County comes to about $38M a year: $976 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 15 nail salons, that is $2.5M per salon, 52% above the U.S. figure of $1.7M. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons.
Story County has 15 nail salons on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 47% of them, against 27% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.9, 35% below the U.S. rate of 6.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in Story County classed as nail salons. That is one for every 6,484 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Another 42 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in Story County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For nail salons, Story County has a Groundwork market score of 70 (upper middle): #150 of 1,328 scored counties and #5 of 22 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Story County compares
The same measures for Iowa 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.
| Measure | Story County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.9 | 4.1 | 6.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.5M | $2.4M | $1.7M |
| Households per official establishment | 6,484 | 8,544 | 3,754 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +42.6% | +23.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $976 | $990 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $69,685 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4 → 6
- Employees, 2023
- 16
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $716K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 42Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 157 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 23The 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 Story 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 Story County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 101,291+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 38,904
- Median age
- 33.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 56%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 573 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 175
- Median household income
- $69,685+22.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,918
- Median home value
- $258,700
- Jobs located here
- 47,997
- Daytime population
- 107,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Story 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 nail salons on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Story County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardNail salons across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for nail salons, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Story County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warren County, IA | 85 | 7 | 3.4 | $3.2M | +9.0% | #20 of 1,328 |
| 2Linn County, IA | 75 | 39 | 4.1 | $2.5M | +0.7% | #88 of 1,328 |
| 3Johnson County, IA | 72 | 33 | 5.2 | $2M | +4.6% | #124 of 1,328 |
| 4Dubuque County, IA | 71 | 13 | 3.2 | $3.1M | +0.1% | #134 of 1,328 |
| 5Story County, IA | 70 | 15 | 3.9 | $2.5M | +2.7% | #150 of 1,328 |
| 6Pottawattamie County, IA | 67 | 9 | 2.4 | $4M | −0.7% | #200 of 1,328 |
| 7Dallas County, IA | 63 | 30 | 7.1 | $1.7M | +17.8% | #336 of 1,328 |
| 8Clinton County, IA | 62 | 6 | 3.1 | $3.1M | −0.9% | #340 of 1,328 |
| 9Jasper County, IA | 62 | 6 | 4.0 | $2.4M | +0.9% | #341 of 1,328 |
| 10Sioux County, IA | 62 | 7 | 5.5 | $1.9M | +2.5% | #352 of 1,328 |
Other business types in Story County
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 spas62
- Hair salons60
- Barbershops78
- Nail salons70
- Spas and skin care75
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many nail salons are in Story County, IA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 15 nail salons in Story County. 7 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023. Official counts list 42 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Story County, IA spend on personal care products and services?
About $38M a year, or $976 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per salon. That spending covers all personal care products and services, which nail salons share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 38,904 households in Story County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Story County, IA compare with the U.S. for nail salons?
Story County has 3.9 nail salons per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $2.5M, 52% above the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the U.S. ratio of nail salons to household spending, Story County would have about 23, against 15 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,484 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S.
How fast is Story County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Story County at 101,291 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 38,904 households. Median household income in Story County is $69,685, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.8%, 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. Story County scores 70 for nail salons (upper middle), #150 of 1,328 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Story County. 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 Story County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Story 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 Story 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.