Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · County · North Carolina

Nail salons in Onslow County, NC

How Onslow County, NC 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #894 of 1,328 scored counties
#47 of 72 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
49
18 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$63M
On personal care products and services · $837 a household
Spending per listing
$1.3M
23% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.5
8% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
217,175
+6.0% since 2020

See the nail salons around any address in Onslow 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 Onslow County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 49 nail salons in Onslow County. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 27% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.5, 8% above the U.S. rate of 6.0.

At $837 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in Onslow County spend about $63M a year on personal care products and services. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each salon on map listings, 23% 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.

Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in Onslow County in 2023. That is one for every 5,376 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Another 207 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $155K has gone to businesses classed as nail salons in Onslow County.

Population estimates put the population change in Onslow County from 2020 to 2025 at +6.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for nail salons in Onslow County is 43 (lower middle), #894 of 1,328 scored counties and #47 of 72 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Onslow County compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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.

Nail salons in Onslow County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureOnslow CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.56.46.0
Spending per listing$1.3M$1.4M$1.7M
Households per official establishment5,3767,5133,754
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+55.7%+23.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.0%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$837$897$1,005
Median household income$68,148$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4345

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6 → 14
Employees, 2023
36
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
207Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
4918 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
38The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$155K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as nail salons in Onslow 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 Onslow County

Population, 2025 estimate
217,175+6.0% since 2020
Households
75,265
Median age
30.9
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
762 sq. mi.
People per square mile
273
Median household income
$68,148+35.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,766
Median home value
$236,400
Jobs located here
48,126
Daytime population
192,000Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Onslow 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 Onslow County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Nail salons across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for nail salons, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Onslow County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for nail salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Chatham County, NC88113.3$3.1M+11.0%#7 of 1,328
2Orange County, NC87183.1$3.3M+6.1%#12 of 1,328
3Franklin County, NC7593.2$2.8M+18.8%#85 of 1,328
4Lincoln County, NC74184.9$1.9M+13.2%#110 of 1,328
5Davie County, NC6974.1$2.3M+6.9%#177 of 1,328
6Henderson County, NC68173.3$2.6M+5.0%#191 of 1,328
7Johnston County, NC67404.7$2M+17.9%#219 of 1,328
8Brunswick County, NC67385.5$1.6M+26.5%#228 of 1,328
9Union County, NC66516.1$1.8M+11.7%#251 of 1,328
10Rowan County, NC65213.6$2.3M+5.6%#267 of 1,328
47Onslow County, NC43496.5$1.3M+6.0%#894 of 1,328

Other business types in Onslow County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many nail salons are in Onslow County, NC?

Onslow County has 49 nail salons on map listings as of September 2026. 18 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023. Official counts list 207 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Onslow County, NC spend on personal care products and services?

About $63M a year, or $837 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per salon. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons. It is estimated from the incomes of the 75,265 households in Onslow County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Onslow County, NC compare with the U.S. for nail salons?

Onslow County has 6.5 nail salons per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $1.3M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the national ratio of nail salons to household spending, Onslow County would have about 38, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,376 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S.

How fast is Onslow County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Onslow County at 217,175 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 75,265 households. The median household income in Onslow County is $68,148 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.5% 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. Onslow County scores 43 for nail salons (lower middle), #894 of 1,328 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Onslow 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 Onslow County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Onslow 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 Onslow 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.