Groundwork

Beauty and personal care · Metro area · Iowa

Spas and skin care studios in the Ames, IA metro area

The spas and skin care studios in the Ames, IA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 77 out of 100: High

Ranked #7 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa

Listings
26
5 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
7
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$49.1M
On personal care products and services · $986 a household
Spending per listing
$1.9M
2.2 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.2
55% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
128,090
+2.2% since 2020

See the spas and skin care studios around any address in the Ames metro area

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 the Ames 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 Ames metro area scores 77 (high) on the Groundwork market score for spas and skin care studios, ranking #7 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for spas and skin care studios.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 26 spas and skin care studios in the Ames metro area. 5 of them (19%) are chain locations, against 10% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.2, 55% below the U.S. rate of 11.5.

Households in the Ames metro area spend about $49.1M a year on personal care products and services, or $986 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. Spread across 26 spas and skin care studios, that is $1.9M per studio, 2.2 times 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in the Ames metro area classed as other personal care services. That is one for every 7,120 households, against one for every 4,055 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Ames metro area grew 2.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Ames metro area compares

The same measures for Iowa 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.

Spas and skin care in Ames, IA metro area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureAmes metro areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.28.711.5
Spending per listing$1.9M$1.1M$876K
Households per official establishment7,1206,0084,055
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+12.9%+29.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.2%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on personal care products and services$986$990$1,005
Median household income$73,127$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score7766

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7
Employees, 2023
48
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
265 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
56The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as other personal care services in the Ames 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 Ames metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
128,090+2.2% since 2020
Households
49,840
Median age
35.1
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,143 sq. mi.
People per square mile
111
Median household income
$73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,543
Median home value
$246,300
Jobs located here
57,558
Daytime population
130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ames 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 spas and skin care studios on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Spas and skin care across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for spas and skin care studios, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa ranked for spas and skin care studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ames, IA77265.2$1.9M+2.2%#7 of 387
2Iowa City, IA69659.0$1.1M+4.1%#41 of 387
3Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL641328.2$1.2M−0.9%#63 of 387
Omaha, NE-IA623759.6$1.1M+4.2%#79 of 387
4Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA6230810.4$1M+6.7%#82 of 387
5Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA58659.4$1M+0.5%#116 of 387
6Sioux City, IA-NE-SD55549.7$999K+1.0%#147 of 387
7Cedar Rapids, IA4912410.9$933K+1.0%#198 of 387
8Dubuque, IA414310.5$952K+0.1%#271 of 387

Other business types in the Ames metro area

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

Questions

How many spas and skin care studios are in the Ames, IA metro area?

There are 26 spas and skin care studios on map listings in the Ames metro area as of September 2026. 5 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count spas, skin care, waxing, lash and tanning studios. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as other personal care services in 2023.

How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on personal care products and services?

About $49.1M a year, or $986 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 spas and skin care studios on map listings, it comes to $1.9M 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 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for spas and skin care studios?

The Ames metro area has 5.2 spas and skin care studios per 10,000 households, 55% below the U.S. rate of 11.5. Spending per studio is $1.9M, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $876K. At the national ratio of spas and skin care studios to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 56, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,120 households, against one for every 4,055 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Ames metro area scores 77 for spas and skin care studios (high), #7 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 Ames metro area. 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 the Ames metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames 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 Ames 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.