Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Wisconsin

Nail salons in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area

The nail salons in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #313 of 387 scored metro areas
#13 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin

Listings
404
96 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
219
+29.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$672.9M
On personal care products and services · $1,025 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.2
3% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,575,010
0.0% since 2020

See the nail salons around any address in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area. 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

The Groundwork market score for nail salons in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area is 38 (lower middle), #313 of 387 scored metro areas and #13 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on personal care products and services in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area comes to about $672.9M a year: $1,025 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.7M of household spending for each salon on map listings, in line with the U.S. figure of $1.7M. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only nail salons.

The Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area has 404 nail salons on map listings as of September 2026. 96 of them (24%) are chain locations, against 27% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.2, 3% above the U.S. rate of 6.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area was 219 in 2023, up 29.6% from 2019. That is one for every 2,997 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $400K have gone to businesses classed as nail salons in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureMilwaukee-Waukesha metro areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.24.46.0
Spending per listing$1.7M$2.3M$1.7M
Households per official establishment2,9975,3323,754
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+29.6%+35.2%+23.2%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$1,025$1,007$1,005
Median household income$78,218$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score3854

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
219+29.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,013
Annual payroll, 2023
$30.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
572Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
40496 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
403The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
5
Amount
$400K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as nail salons in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,575,0100.0% since 2020
Households
656,436
Median age
39.7
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,455 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,078
Median household income
$78,218+25.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,675
Median home value
$306,400
Jobs located here
863,760
Daytime population
1,652,441Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Nail salons across Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Wisconsin for nail salons, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Wisconsin

Metro areas in Wisconsin ranked for nail salons by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Duluth, MN-WI72221.8$5.3M+0.2%#26 of 387
1Eau Claire, WI70223.1$3.2M+2.6%#37 of 387
2Madison, WI701575.2$2.1M+4.1%#38 of 387
3Green Bay, WI69483.5$2.9M+2.5%#42 of 387
4Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI67273.4$3M+0.4%#56 of 387
5Oshkosh-Neenah, WI66304.1$2.4M+1.4%#64 of 387
6La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN66304.2$2.4M+0.4%#66 of 387
7Fond du Lac, WI65143.2$3M+0.5%#67 of 387
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI626724.5$2.5M+2.6%#81 of 387
8Sheboygan, WI61173.4$2.9M0.0%#88 of 387
13Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI384046.2$1.7M0.0%#313 of 387

Other business types in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area

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

Questions

How many nail salons are in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 404 nail salons in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area. 96 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count nail salons. Official counts show 219 businesses with payroll classed as nail salons in 2023, up 29.6% from 2019. Official counts list 572 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $672.9M a year, or $1,025 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 404 nail salons on map listings, it comes to $1.7M 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 656,436 households in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for nail salons?

The Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area has 6.2 nail salons per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 6.0. Spending per salon is $1.7M, in line with the U.S. figure of $1.7M. At the U.S. ratio of nail salons to household spending, the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area would have about 403, against 404 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,997 households, against one for every 3,754 across the U.S. The official count rose 29.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +23.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area at 1,575,010 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 656,436 households. Median household income in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area is $78,218, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.4%, 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. 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area scores 38 for nail salons (lower middle), #313 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha 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.