How to research a location for a hair salon.
Hair salon offering cuts, color, blowouts and styling. Hair salons run on appointments, so customers will drive a little further for the right one, and parking and the ease of finding the door count for more than foot traffic. This guide takes the six questions every location raises, says which public record answers each one for a hair salon, and points to the free page that reads it. Nothing here says a spot will work; it says what to measure before you decide.
What matters most for a hair salon
- Repeat clients within a short drive. Clients book every few weeks and rarely drive far for a regular appointment. DoorWorthy models salon spending from households within 3 miles.
- Salons compete for stylists too. Salons and barbershops nearby compete for the same clients and for the same chair renters. The check counts both within half a mile.
- Parking and an easy stop. Appointment clients drive, so parking at the door matters more than foot traffic.
- Plumbing for shampoo bowls. Shampoo stations need water and drains where you want them. A space with existing plumbing can save a large part of the build-out.
1. Who is within reach
Hair salons run on appointments, so customers will drive a little further for the right one, and parking and the ease of finding the door count for more than foot traffic. The Census American Community Survey gives residents, households and household income by ZIP, and the Census LODES data counts jobs by where people work, so a ring around an address shows the weekday crowd. Read both on the ZIP check for a whole ZIP, or on the free hair salon location check for one address.
2. How many hair salons are already there
Census County Business Patterns counted 19 hair salons with paid employees in the United States in 2023, or 0.0 per 10,000 residents. The rate is the number to compare: a metro well above it is crowded, one well below it is either underserved or uninterested, and the ZIP tables show which. See how many hair salons are in each state and metro area.
3. What the road carries
State departments of transportation publish annual average daily traffic for the roads they count, collected by the Federal Highway Administration. For a hair salon the count tells you how visible the sign is to the people who will book; parking tells you whether they come back. The free location check shows the nearest counted road and the year of the count.
4. Whether the rules let you open
Zoning decides whether a hair salon is allowed at that parcel; the city reads it from the zoning district, and a change of use can need a hearing. Licensing is what you file before opening day: the entity, the tax accounts, the salon or shop license and the operators’ own licenses, and the employer registrations. DoorWorthy lists the order for a hair salon in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, each item with its agency.
5. Whether the math works
In 2023, 8.1% of other services, including personal care establishments in the United States closed and 10.0% opened, by the Census Business Dynamics Statistics; the IRS reports net income of 24.4% of receipts for personal and laundry services businesses in 2023. Those are the numbers to hold your own forecast against: rent as a share of sales, a bad year built in. See whether a hair salon is profitable, by state, and run your own numbers in the calculators.
6. What the records miss
A record describes a year, a ZIP, a road. Walk the block at the hours a hair salon would be open, twice, once in bad weather. Count who goes into the nearest competitor. Then read the lease with a lawyer. The research narrows the choice; the walk and the lease decide it.
Before you sign
- Residents and workers within reach, with the year of the count.
- The hair salons nearby, named, and the count per 10,000 residents for the area.
- The traffic count on the road and its year.
- Zoning that allows a hair salon at this parcel, confirmed with the city.
- Every license and permit the state and city require, in order, with the agency.
- Rent as a share of your sales forecast, against what businesses like yours spend.
- Two visits to the block at your opening hours.
Check a hair salon location free