Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Kentucky
Nail salons in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area
How the Lexington-Fayette, KY 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #131 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 98
- 32 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 27
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $193.8M
- On personal care products and services · $896 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2M
- 18% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 25% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 535,174
- +3.4% since 2020
See the nail salons around any address in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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
Households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area spend about $193.8M a year on personal care products and services, or $896 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $2M of household spending for each salon on map listings, 18% above the U.S. figure of $1.7M. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons.
The Lexington-Fayette metro area has 98 nail salons on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 32 are chain locations, or 33%, against 27% across the U.S. That comes to 4.5 for every 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 6.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 27 businesses with payroll in the Lexington-Fayette metro area classed as nail salons. That is one for every 8,010 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Official counts list 501 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $304K has gone to businesses classed as nail salons in the Lexington-Fayette metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lexington-Fayette metro area grew 3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For nail salons, the Lexington-Fayette metro area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #131 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.
How the Lexington-Fayette metro area compares
The same measures for Kentucky 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 | Lexington-Fayette metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.5 | 3.9 | 6.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2M | $2.1M | $1.7M |
| Households per official establishment | 8,010 | 15,508 | 3,754 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +46.3% | +23.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $896 | $833 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $71,966 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 27
- Employees, 2023
- 67
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 501Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 9832 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 116The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $304K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as nail salons in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 535,174+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 216,273
- Median age
- 38.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,470 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 355
- Median household income
- $71,966+22.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,014
- Median home value
- $281,300
- Jobs located here
- 289,772
- Daytime population
- 573,681Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardNail salons across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for nail salons, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lexington-Fayette metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 68 | 368 | 4.1 | $2.5M | +2.7% | #49 of 387 |
| 1Owensboro, KY | 59 | 12 | 2.7 | $3.2M | +1.3% | #103 of 387 |
| 2Bowling Green, KY | 59 | 35 | 4.8 | $1.7M | +9.5% | #111 of 387 |
| 3Lexington-Fayette, KY | 57 | 98 | 4.5 | $2M | +3.4% | #131 of 387 |
| 4Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 56 | 288 | 5.2 | $1.8M | +2.9% | #142 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 48 | 92 | 7.4 | $1.1M | +8.5% | #216 of 387 |
| 5Paducah, KY-IL | 47 | 14 | 3.4 | $2.5M | −1.2% | #217 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 46 | 65 | 4.3 | $1.9M | −2.6% | #226 of 387 |
| 6Elizabethtown, KY | 36 | 27 | 5.3 | $1.6M | +2.4% | #333 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lexington-Fayette 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 spas41
- Hair salons42
- Barbershops54
- Nail salons57
- Spas and skin care30
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many nail salons are in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 98 nail salons in the Lexington-Fayette metro area. 32 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023. Official counts also show 501 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area spend on personal care products and services?
About $193.8M a year, or $896 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 98 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $2M 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 216,273 households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for nail salons?
The Lexington-Fayette metro area has 4.5 nail salons per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $2M, 18% above the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the U.S. ratio of nail salons to household spending, the Lexington-Fayette metro area would have about 116, against 98 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,010 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S.
How fast is the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lexington-Fayette metro area at 535,174 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 216,273 households. Median household income in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is $71,966, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.6%, 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area scores 57 for nail salons (upper middle), #131 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 Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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.