Beauty and personal care · County · New Jersey
Nail salons in Essex County, NJ
How Essex County, NJ compares with other counties and the U.S. for nail salons: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #910 of 1,328 scored counties
#15 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey
- Listings
- 239
- 48 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 187
- +4.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $340.2M
- On personal care products and services · $1,064 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.4M
- 15% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.5
- 25% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 896,379
- +4.2% since 2020
See the nail salons around any address in Essex 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 Essex 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 239 nail salons in Essex County. Chain locations make up 20% of them, against 27% across the U.S. That comes to 7.5 for every 10,000 households, 25% above the U.S. rate of 6.0.
Household spending on personal care products and services in Essex County comes to about $340.2M a year: $1,064 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.4M of household spending for each salon on map listings, 15% below 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 187 businesses with payroll in Essex County classed as nail salons, up 4.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,710 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Official counts list 376 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as nail salons in Essex County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Essex County grew 4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Essex County scores 42 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for nail salons, ranking #910 of 1,328 scored counties and #15 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey.
How Essex County compares
The same measures for New Jersey 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 | Essex County | New Jersey | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.5 | 7.3 | 6.0 |
| Spending per listing | $1.4M | $1.6M | $1.7M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,710 | 1,650 | 3,754 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.5% | +0.7% | +23.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.2% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $1,064 | $1,166 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $80,789 | $103,556 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 42 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 179 → 187+4.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 799
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $16.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 376Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23948 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 204The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $1.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as nail salons in Essex 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 Essex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 896,379+4.2% since 2020
- Households
- 319,788
- Median age
- 38.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 45%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.3
- Land area
- 126 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 6,845
- Median household income
- $80,789+31.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $131,554
- Median home value
- $524,100
- Jobs located here
- 362,597
- Daytime population
- 843,719Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Essex 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 Essex 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 New Jersey
Every New Jersey market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in New Jersey for nail salons, numbered among those based in New Jersey, with Essex County marked.
Top counties in New Jersey
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hunterdon County, NJ | 61 | 27 | 5.3 | $2.5M | +2.3% | #365 of 1,328 |
| 2Sussex County, NJ | 61 | 30 | 5.2 | $2.3M | +2.9% | #370 of 1,328 |
| 3Mercer County, NJ | 59 | 73 | 5.1 | $2.3M | +3.3% | #420 of 1,328 |
| 4Salem County, NJ | 58 | 10 | 4.0 | $2.5M | +2.3% | #444 of 1,328 |
| 5Warren County, NJ | 55 | 26 | 5.7 | $1.9M | +3.2% | #537 of 1,328 |
| 6Ocean County, NJ | 52 | 149 | 6.1 | $1.8M | +5.6% | #626 of 1,328 |
| 7Middlesex County, NJ | 51 | 194 | 6.3 | $1.9M | +2.6% | #663 of 1,328 |
| 8Somerset County, NJ | 51 | 100 | 7.6 | $1.8M | +3.5% | #667 of 1,328 |
| 9Burlington County, NJ | 51 | 119 | 6.7 | $1.8M | +4.3% | #669 of 1,328 |
| 10Cumberland County, NJ | 48 | 23 | 4.3 | $2.2M | +2.2% | #748 of 1,328 |
| 15Essex County, NJ | 42 | 239 | 7.5 | $1.4M | +4.2% | #910 of 1,328 |
Other business types in Essex 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 spas43
- Hair salons49
- Barbershops43
- Nail salons42
- Spas and skin care67
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many nail salons are in Essex County, NJ?
There are 239 nail salons on map listings in Essex County as of September 2026. 48 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 187 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023, up 4.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 376 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Essex County, NJ spend on personal care products and services?
About $340.2M a year, or $1,064 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 239 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $1.4M per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 319,788 households in Essex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Essex County, NJ compare with the U.S. for nail salons?
Essex County has 7.5 nail salons per 10,000 households, 25% above the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $1.4M, 15% below the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the national ratio of nail salons to household spending, Essex County would have about 204, against 239 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,710 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +23.2% for the U.S.
How fast is Essex County, NJ growing?
Population estimates put Essex County at 896,379 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 319,788 households. The median household income in Essex County is $80,789 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.3% 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. 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. Essex County scores 42 for nail salons (lower middle), #910 of 1,328 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Essex 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 Essex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Essex 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 Essex 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.