Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · Maine
Nail salons in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area
How the Augusta-Waterville, ME area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for nail salons: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 74 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #35 of 387 scored small-town markets
The only scored small-town market based in Maine
- Listings
- 19
- 6 chain locations (32%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $50.1M
- On personal care products and services · $923 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- 58% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.5
- 42% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 129,067
- +3.5% since 2020
See the nail salons around any address in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville 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
For nail salons, the Augusta-Waterville area has a Groundwork market score of 74 (upper middle): #35 of 387 scored small-town markets and the only scored small-town market based in Maine. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for nail salons.
As of September 2026, map listings count 19 nail salons in the Augusta-Waterville area. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 32%, against 27% across the U.S. That comes to 3.5 for every 10,000 households, 42% below the U.S. rate of 6.0.
Households in the Augusta-Waterville area spend about $50.1M a year on personal care products and services, or $923 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.6M per salon, 58% 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.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in the Augusta-Waterville area: counts under 3 aren’t published. Population estimates put the population change in the Augusta-Waterville area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.5%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Augusta-Waterville area compares
The same measures for Maine 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 | Augusta-Waterville area | Maine | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.5 | 3.3 | 6.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $2.9M | $1.7M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 8,180 | 3,754 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +69.8% | +23.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.5% | +3.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $923 | $973 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $69,077 | $74,733 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 74 | 75 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 46Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 196 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 30The 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 Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 129,067+3.5% since 2020
- Households
- 54,312
- Median age
- 43.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 868 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 146
- Median household income
- $69,077+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $88,742
- Median home value
- $238,200
- Jobs located here
- 65,677
- Daytime population
- 134,017Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Augusta-Waterville area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Augusta-Waterville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOther business types in the Augusta-Waterville 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 spas67
- Hair salons69
- Barbershops75
- Nail salons74
- Spas and skin care62
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many nail salons are in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area?
The Augusta-Waterville area has 19 nail salons on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. No official count is published for nail salons in the Augusta-Waterville area: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 46 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area spend on personal care products and services?
About $50.1M a year, or $923 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $2.6M per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 54,312 households in the Augusta-Waterville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Augusta-Waterville, ME area compare with the U.S. for nail salons?
The Augusta-Waterville area has 3.5 nail salons per 10,000 households, 42% below the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $2.6M, 58% above the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the national ratio of nail salons to household spending, the Augusta-Waterville area would have about 30, against 19 on map listings.
How fast is the Augusta-Waterville, ME area growing?
Population estimates put the Augusta-Waterville area at 129,067 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 54,312 households. The median household income in the Augusta-Waterville area is $69,077 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.8% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Augusta-Waterville area scores 74 for nail salons (upper middle), #35 of 387 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville 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.