Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · Minnesota
Nail salons in the Brainerd, MN area
How the Brainerd, MN 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 80 out of 100: High
Ranked #12 of 387 scored small-town markets
#1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 11
- 2 chain locations (18%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $40.9M
- On personal care products and services · $967 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 2.2 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.6
- 57% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 100,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the nail salons around any address in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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
The Groundwork market score for nail salons in the Brainerd area is 80 (high), #12 of 387 scored small-town markets and #1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for nail salons.
At $967 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in the Brainerd area spend about $40.9M a year on personal care products and services. Spread across 11 nail salons, that is $3.7M per salon, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $1.7M. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons.
The Brainerd area has 11 nail salons on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (18%) are chain locations, against 27% across the U.S. That is 2.6 per 10,000 households, 57% below the U.S. rate of 6.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in the Brainerd area classed as nail salons. That is one for every 6,039 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Brainerd area grew 4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Brainerd area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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 | Brainerd area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.6 | 3.8 | 6.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $2.9M | $1.7M |
| Households per official establishment | 6,039 | 3,434 | 3,754 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.5% | +23.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $967 | $1,091 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $71,384 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 80 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 35
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 19Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 112 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25The 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 Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 100,562+4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 42,276
- Median age
- 46.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 3,020 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $71,384+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,780
- Median home value
- $301,000
- Jobs located here
- 39,612
- Daytime population
- 95,720Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for nail salons, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with the Brainerd area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brainerd, MN | 80 | 11 | 2.6 | $3.7M | +4.3% | #12 of 387 |
| 2Faribault-Northfield, MN | 70 | 6 | 2.6 | $4M | +4.2% | #60 of 387 |
| 3Willmar, MN | 69 | 5 | 2.8 | $3.5M | +2.3% | #69 of 387 |
| 4Winona, MN | 69 | 8 | 4.0 | $2.4M | +1.8% | #74 of 387 |
| 5Bemidji, MN | 67 | 5 | 2.8 | $3.4M | +1.8% | #79 of 387 |
| 6Alexandria, MN | 66 | 5 | 2.9 | $3.5M | +2.6% | #85 of 387 |
| 7Owatonna, MN | 60 | 5 | 3.3 | $3.1M | +0.2% | #125 of 387 |
| 8Detroit Lakes, MN | 60 | 7 | 4.9 | $2M | +0.9% | #129 of 387 |
| 9Worthington, MN | 46 | 5 | 6.5 | $1.5M | +0.6% | #225 of 387 |
| 10Albert Lea, MN | 41 | 7 | 5.4 | $1.7M | −1.5% | #260 of 387 |
Other business types in the Brainerd 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 spas63
- Hair salons64
- Barbershops90
- Nail salons80
- Spas and skin care63
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many nail salons are in the Brainerd, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 nail salons in the Brainerd area. 2 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023. Official counts also show 19 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Brainerd, MN area spend on personal care products and services?
About $40.9M a year, or $967 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 42,276 households in the Brainerd area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Brainerd, MN area compare with the U.S. for nail salons?
The Brainerd area has 2.6 nail salons per 10,000 households, 57% below the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $3.7M, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the U.S. ratio of nail salons to household spending, the Brainerd area would have about 25, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,039 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S.
How fast is the Brainerd, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Brainerd area at 100,562 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 42,276 households. Median household income in the Brainerd area is $71,384, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.4%, 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 Brainerd area scores 80 for nail salons (high), #12 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 Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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.