Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Illinois

Salons, barbers and spas in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area

The salons, barbers and spas in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #235 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois

Listings
17,903
2,572 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
5,098
+9.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$4B
On personal care products and services · $1,110 a household
Spending per listing
$226K
6% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
49.1
4% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
9,434,123
0.0% since 2020

See the salons, barbers and spas around any address in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

The site report maps the salons, barbers and spas 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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

Households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area spend about $4B a year on personal care products and services, or $1,110 per household, 11% above the U.S. average. Spread across 17,903 salons, barbers and spas, that is $226K per business, 6% above the U.S. figure of $213K.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 17,903 salons, barbers and spas on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2,572 are chain locations, or 14%, against 15% across the U.S. That is 49.1 per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 47.2.

Official counts show 5,098 businesses with payroll classed as personal care services in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area in 2023, up 9.8% from 2019. That is one for every 715 households, against one for every 804 across the U.S. Official counts list 49,171 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 296 SBA-backed loans worth $85.2M have gone to businesses classed as personal care services in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For salons, barbers and spas, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #235 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois.

How the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area compares

The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all personal care products and services by the salons, barbers and spas counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Salons, barbers and spas in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureChicago-Naperville-Elgin metro areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households49.145.347.2
Spending per listing$226K$235K$213K
Households per official establishment715865804
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.8%+8.2%+14.1%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$1,110$1,063$1,005
Median household income$90,887$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score4644

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5,098+9.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
24,714
Annual payroll, 2023
$807M
One-person businesses, 2023
49,171Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
17,9032,572 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19,020The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
296
Amount
$85.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as personal care services in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
9,434,1230.0% since 2020
Households
3,643,783
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
6,923 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,354
Median household income
$90,887
Average household income
$125,950
Median home value
$323,000
Jobs located here
4,599,202
Daytime population
9,509,530Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 salons, barbers and spas on map listings by name and distance.

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Salons, barbers and spas across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for salons, barbers and spas, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois ranked for salons, barbers and spas by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Champaign-Urbana, IL6334835.4$267K+1.5%#62 of 387
St. Louis, MO-IL604,64040.0$260K−0.2%#81 of 387
2Bloomington, IL6027939.7$258K+0.1%#82 of 387
3Peoria, IL6063040.9$240K−1.3%#86 of 387
4Rockford, IL5358042.8$221K−0.3%#160 of 387
5Kankakee, IL5217943.7$224K−1.7%#172 of 387
6Decatur, IL5117239.6$230K−4.3%#180 of 387
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL5169943.2$226K−0.9%#182 of 387
7Springfield, IL4938142.3$236K−1.2%#201 of 387
8Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN4617,90349.1$226K0.0%#235 of 387

Other business types in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

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

Questions

How many salons, barbers and spas are in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 17,903 salons, barbers and spas in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. 2,572 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count hair and nail salons, barbers, spas and skin care. Official counts show 5,098 businesses with payroll classed as personal care services in 2023, up 9.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 49,171 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $4B a year, or $1,110 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17,903 salons, barbers and spas on map listings, it comes to $226K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,643,783 households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compare with the U.S. for salons, barbers and spas?

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 49.1 salons, barbers and spas per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 47.2. Spending per business is $226K, 6% above the U.S. figure of $213K. At the U.S. ratio of salons, barbers and spas to household spending, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area would have about 19,020, against 17,903 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 715 households, against one for every 804 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +14.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area at 9,434,123 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,643,783 households. The median household income in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area is $90,887 a year, 13% above the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area scores 46 for salons, barbers and spas (lower middle), #235 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. It maps the salons, barbers and spas 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 salons, barbers and spas · All 56 business types in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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.