Hair and beauty salons in North Carolina: 2,332 locations, -1.3% jobs
Official counts for hair and beauty salons in North Carolina, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how North Carolina compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
North Carolina against the country · 2026 Q1
| North Carolina | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Hair and beauty salons with employees | 2,332 | 77,594 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 21.1 | 22.8 |
| Jobs | 9,326 | 357,931 |
| Jobs, year over year | -1.3% | -0.8% |
| Locations, year over year | +8.4% | +0.6% |
| Average weekly wage | $686 | $670 |
| Rank among states, density | 21 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 28 of 50 |
What the numbers say
North Carolina has 2,332 hair and beauty salons with payroll, employing 9,326 people. At 21.1 per 100,000 residents the market is close to the national average, number 21 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs fell 1.3% over the year, against -0.8% nationally. Locations grew faster than jobs, which usually means more and smaller operators entering: the kind of market where the cheapest service gets crowded first.
Average pay at hair and beauty salons in North Carolina is $686 a week, 2% above the national figure of $670. Budget labor from this number, not from a national guide.
Over five years, from 2021 to 2025, the number of hair and beauty salons in North Carolina moved +9.8%, from 2,008 to 2,204.
Hair and beauty salons in North Carolina, annual average
- 20212,008
- 20222,224
- 20232,419
- 20242,386
- 20252,204
Jobs at hair and beauty salons in North Carolina
- 20218,346
- 20228,966
- 20239,377
- 20249,493
- 20259,436
What counts as "hair and beauty salons" here
Beauty salons: hair styling, cutting and coloring, facials and makeup. Barber shops and nail salons are counted under their own codes. The code is NAICS 812112. BLS counts establishments that report payroll, so a one-person business with no employees is not in these figures; in trades with many solo operators the true number of businesses is higher.
Before you open one in North Carolina
A statewide figure tells you which way the wind blows. It does not tell you whether the corner you are looking at has the households, the income and the gap in competition to support one more. A counts the hair and beauty salons within reach of one address in North Carolina, reads the county trend from the same BLS table, and scores the plan. The saturation check does a city-level version for free.
Questions people ask
How many hair and beauty salons are there in North Carolina?
BLS counted 2,332 hair and beauty salons with employees in North Carolina in 2026 Q1, employing 9,326 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 21.1 per 100,000 residents, against 22.8 nationally.
Are hair and beauty salons growing in North Carolina?
Not at the moment. Jobs at hair and beauty salons in North Carolina changed -1.3% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed +8.4%. That ranks North Carolina 28 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +9.8%.
Is North Carolina a crowded market for hair and beauty salons?
North Carolina has 21.1 hair and beauty salons per 100,000 residents, close to the national average, ranking 21 of 50 states. Density is a statewide average; a Neur report counts the competitors around one address.
Hair and beauty salons in every state
Densest first. The number is hair and beauty salons per 100,000 residents in 2026 Q1.
Other business types in North Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private sector, NAICS 812112, 2026 Q1 (quarterly) and annual averages (five-year series); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year population estimates. This page is generated from those feeds and rewritten when a new quarter publishes. All 14 business types in North Carolina · Growth ranking for North Carolina · Hair and beauty salons by state