Beauty and personal care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Spas and skin care studios in the Morehead City, NC area
How the Morehead City, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for spas and skin care studios: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #414 of 504 scored small-town markets
#20 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 44
- 4 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $28.5M
- On personal care products and services · $890 a household
- Spending per listing
- $647K
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.8
- 20% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 70,469
- +4.1% since 2020
See the spas and skin care studios around any address in the Morehead City 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 Morehead City area. 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
For spas and skin care studios, the Morehead City area has a Groundwork market score of 35 (lower middle): #414 of 504 scored small-town markets and #20 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 44 spas and skin care studios in the Morehead City area. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 10% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 13.8, 20% above the U.S. rate of 11.5.
Household spending on personal care products and services in the Morehead City area comes to about $28.5M a year: $890 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 44 spas and skin care studios, that is $647K per studio, 26% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in the Morehead City area classed as other personal care services. That is one for every 3,553 households, against one for every 4,055 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $410K have gone to businesses classed as other personal care services in the Morehead City area. Population estimates put the population change in the Morehead City area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Morehead City area 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 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 | Morehead City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.8 | 11.1 | 11.5 |
| Spending per listing | $647K | $811K | $876K |
| Households per official establishment | 3,553 | 4,313 | 4,055 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +39.9% | +29.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on personal care products and services | $890 | $897 | $1,005 |
| Median household income | $72,322 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9
- Employees, 2023
- 19
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $698K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 444 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 33The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $410K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as other personal care services in the Morehead City 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 Morehead City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 70,469+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 31,977
- Median age
- 49.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 508 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 136
- Median household income
- $72,322+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $99,351
- Median home value
- $333,300
- Jobs located here
- 23,748
- Daytime population
- 65,592Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Morehead City area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Morehead City area. 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for spas and skin care studios, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Morehead City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 87 | 17 | 3.4 | $2.5M | +12.3% | #4 of 504 |
| 2Sanford, NC | 65 | 18 | 7.2 | $1.1M | +10.8% | #103 of 504 |
| 3North Wilkesboro, NC | 63 | 11 | 4.1 | $1.8M | +0.6% | #113 of 504 |
| 4Elizabeth City, NC | 61 | 10 | 6.3 | $1.3M | +4.5% | #137 of 504 |
| 5Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 59 | 29 | 7.5 | $1.1M | +3.4% | #159 of 504 |
| 6Albemarle, NC | 58 | 18 | 7.1 | $1.1M | +9.8% | #167 of 504 |
| 7New Bern, NC | 53 | 49 | 9.3 | $875K | +3.6% | #217 of 504 |
| 8Lumberton, NC | 52 | 22 | 5.1 | $1.3M | +3.4% | #222 of 504 |
| 9Roanoke Rapids, NC | 46 | 10 | 3.5 | $2M | −4.3% | #288 of 504 |
| 10Henderson, NC | 45 | 9 | 5.6 | $1.3M | +0.2% | #310 of 504 |
| 20Morehead City, NC | 35 | 44 | 13.8 | $647K | +4.1% | #414 of 504 |
Other business types in the Morehead City area
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 spas37
- Hair salons45
- Barbershops68
- Nail salons43
- Spas and skin care35
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 the Morehead City, NC area?
There are 44 spas and skin care studios on map listings in the Morehead City area as of September 2026. 4 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count spas, skin care, waxing, lash and tanning studios. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as other personal care services in 2023.
How much do households in the Morehead City, NC area spend on personal care products and services?
About $28.5M a year, or $890 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 44 spas and skin care studios on map listings, it comes to $647K 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 31,977 households in the Morehead City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Morehead City, NC area compare with the U.S. for spas and skin care studios?
The Morehead City area has 13.8 spas and skin care studios per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 11.5. Spending per studio is $647K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $876K. At the national ratio of spas and skin care studios to household spending, the Morehead City area would have about 33, against 44 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,553 households, against one for every 4,055 across the U.S.
How fast is the Morehead City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Morehead City area at 70,469 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 31,977 households. Median household income in the Morehead City area is $72,322, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.5%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Morehead City area scores 35 for spas and skin care studios (lower middle), #414 of 504 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Morehead City 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 Morehead City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Morehead City 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 Morehead City 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.