Beauty and personal care · County · California
Spas and skin care studios in San Luis Obispo County, CA
How San Luis Obispo County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for spas and skin care studios: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,199 of 1,769 scored counties
#35 of 51 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 183
- 8 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 24
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $122.8M
- On personal care products and services · $1,122 a household
- Spending per listing
- $671K
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.7
- 45% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 282,367
- 0.0% since 2020
See the spas and skin care studios around any address in San Luis Obispo County
The site report maps the spas and skin care studios 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 San Luis Obispo 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 183 spas and skin care studios in San Luis Obispo County. Chain locations make up 4% of them, against 10% across the U.S. That is 16.7 per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 11.5.
Households in San Luis Obispo County spend about $122.8M a year on personal care products and services, or $1,122 per household, 12% above the U.S. average. That is about $671K of household spending for each studio on map listings, 23% below the U.S. figure of $876K. That spending covers all personal care products and services, which spas and skin care studios share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as other personal care services in San Luis Obispo County was 24 in 2023. That is one for every 4,563 households, against one for every 4,055 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $148K have gone to businesses classed as other personal care services in San Luis Obispo County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of San Luis Obispo County held about level, against +3.1% for the U.S. San Luis Obispo County scores 42 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for spas and skin care studios, ranking #1,199 of 1,769 scored counties and #35 of 51 scored counties in California.
How San Luis Obispo County compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all personal care products and services by the spas and skin care studios 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 | San Luis Obispo County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.7 | 13.7 | 11.5 |
| Spending per listing | $671K | $839K | $876K |
| Households per official establishment | 4,563 | 3,490 | 4,055 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +37.6% | +29.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $1,122 | $1,149 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $97,446 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 42 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 16 → 24
- Employees, 2023
- 167
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1838 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 140The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $148K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as other personal care services in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 282,3670.0% since 2020
- Households
- 109,503
- Median age
- 42.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,301 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 85
- Median household income
- $97,446+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $132,001
- Median home value
- $824,700
- Jobs located here
- 112,621
- Daytime population
- 276,085Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in San Luis Obispo 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 spas and skin care studios on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of San Luis Obispo County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSpas and skin care across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in California for spas and skin care studios, numbered among those based in California, with San Luis Obispo County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Madera County, CA | 86 | 27 | 5.9 | $1.7M | +7.4% | #30 of 1,769 |
| 2San Benito County, CA | 84 | 18 | 8.8 | $1.4M | +8.6% | #41 of 1,769 |
| 3Merced County, CA | 83 | 37 | 4.3 | $2.1M | +5.1% | #42 of 1,769 |
| 4Yolo County, CA | 76 | 52 | 6.8 | $1.6M | +3.1% | #109 of 1,769 |
| 5Tulare County, CA | 74 | 91 | 6.4 | $1.5M | +2.4% | #143 of 1,769 |
| 6San Joaquin County, CA | 74 | 216 | 8.8 | $1.2M | +5.5% | #148 of 1,769 |
| 7Imperial County, CA | 70 | 23 | 4.6 | $1.9M | +1.1% | #210 of 1,769 |
| 8Kern County, CA | 70 | 217 | 7.6 | $1.2M | +2.3% | #231 of 1,769 |
| 9El Dorado County, CA | 67 | 73 | 9.6 | $1.3M | +0.6% | #308 of 1,769 |
| 10Amador County, CA | 67 | 14 | 8.7 | $1.2M | +3.2% | #310 of 1,769 |
| 35San Luis Obispo County, CA | 42 | 183 | 16.7 | $671K | 0.0% | #1,199 of 1,769 |
Other business types in San Luis Obispo 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 spas45
- Hair salons62
- Barbershops70
- Nail salons51
- Spas and skin care42
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many spas and skin care studios are in San Luis Obispo County, CA?
There are 183 spas and skin care studios on map listings in San Luis Obispo County as of September 2026. 8 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count spas, skin care, waxing, lash and tanning studios. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as other personal care services in 2023.
How much do households in San Luis Obispo County, CA spend on personal care products and services?
About $122.8M a year, or $1,122 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 183 spas and skin care studios on map listings, it comes to $671K per studio. The spending figure covers all personal care products and services, not only spas and skin care studios. It is estimated from the incomes of the 109,503 households in San Luis Obispo County and national spending patterns by income.
How does San Luis Obispo County, CA compare with the U.S. for spas and skin care studios?
San Luis Obispo County has 16.7 spas and skin care studios per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 11.5. Spending per studio is $671K, 23% below the U.S. figure of $876K. At the national ratio of spas and skin care studios to household spending, San Luis Obispo County would have about 140, against 183 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,563 households, against one for every 4,055 across the U.S.
How fast is San Luis Obispo County, CA growing?
Population estimates put San Luis Obispo County at 282,367 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 109,503 households. Median household income in San Luis Obispo County is $97,446, 21% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.6%, 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. San Luis Obispo County scores 42 for spas and skin care studios (lower middle), #1,199 of 1,769 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in San Luis Obispo County. It maps the spas and skin care studios 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 spas and skin care studios · All 56 business types in San Luis Obispo County
Screening a site or an acquisition in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo 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.