City Survivability Rankings for Beauty Salon
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Beauty Salons across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Beauty Salon to succeed.
Quick Summary
- The highest-survivability city for Beauty Salon is Chicago — 73% average survivability
- 3 of 11 analyzed US metros score above 70% for Beauty Salon survivability
- The lowest-ranked city is Baltimore at 61%
- National average survivability score for Beauty Salon: 67.5%
- Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 11 US metro areas · Full methodology →
Table of Contents
- Summary
- Top Cities for Beauty Salons
- Key Insights
- What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
- Related Resources
- How current is this ranking?
- Can a Beauty Salon succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
- What tools can help me choose the right city for a Beauty Salon?
- Which US city has the best survivability for Beauty Salon?
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Chicago ranks as the #1 city for opening a Beauty Salon in the United States, with an average 73% chance of surviving more than 2 years. Following close behind are Tampa Bay with 72%, and Philadelphia with 70%. Beauty Salons consistently deliver a 67.5% survivability average across our 11 analyzed metros, with top-ranked Chicago demonstrating the strongest conditions. Even cities with modest average scores can harbor exceptional individual locations — always check the address-level data. Market conditions shift frequently — use StreetSpring's live tool to confirm the current picture before committing to a location.
Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each city. See our full methodology →
Beauty Salon city survivability rankings — Chicago leads among 11 US metros at 73% in 2026
Top 10 Cities for Beauty Salons
Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 11 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Beauty Salons:
1. Chicago
- Best locations: 80.2% – 89.0%
- Average locations: 69.9% – 74.9%
- Challenging locations: 47.0% – 65.2%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in Chicago →
2. Tampa Bay
- Best locations: 79.4% – 89.0%
- Average locations: 67.9% – 73.7%
- Challenging locations: 41.0% – 62.4%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in Tampa Bay →
3. Philadelphia
- Best locations: 81.0% – 94.0%
- Average locations: 66.7% – 73.2%
- Challenging locations: 40.0% – 61.2%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in Philadelphia →
4. San Diego
- Best locations: 79.5% – 92.0%
- Average locations: 65.6% – 72.0%
- Challenging locations: 39.0% – 60.2%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in San Diego →
5. Portland
- Best locations: 78.6% – 91.0%
- Average locations: 65.1% – 71.1%
- Challenging locations: 41.0% – 60.2%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in Portland →
6. San Antonio
- Best locations: 77.6% – 89.0%
- Average locations: 65.5% – 70.7%
- Challenging locations: 45.0% – 61.3%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in San Antonio →
7. Charlotte
- Best locations: 75.6% – 87.0%
- Average locations: 63.2% – 68.7%
- Challenging locations: 41.0% – 58.7%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in Charlotte →
8. Atlanta
- Best locations: 75.9% – 88.0%
- Average locations: 62.7% – 68.6%
- Challenging locations: 39.0% – 57.8%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in Atlanta →
9. Denver
- Best locations: 75.0% – 87.0%
- Average locations: 62.3% – 67.9%
- Challenging locations: 41.0% – 58.0%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in Denver →
10. St Louis
- Best locations: 75.7% – 91.0%
- Average locations: 59.7% – 66.5%
- Challenging locations: 34.0% – 54.4%
- Explore Beauty Salon neighborhoods in St Louis →
Key Insights
Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Chicago at 73.0%) and the #10 city (St Louis at 63.1%) is 9.9 percentage points. This 1.4-point variation between the #1 and #2 cities is below average for the category, suggesting that Beauty Salons are particularly responsive to local market conditions.
National average: Across all 11 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Beauty Salon is 67.5%.
What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Beauty Salons:
- Strong survivability signals: Chicago leads with a 73% average survivability score for Beauty Salons — significantly above the national average for this business category.
- Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Beauty Salons, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
- Supply chain access: Cities at the top of this ranking benefit from mature supplier networks for this category, reducing operating costs and inventory lead times.
- Geographic distribution: The top cities span multiple U.S. regions, giving franchise operators or multi-location owners diverse market options without concentrating risk.
The data behind these rankings comes from our proprietary AI models, trained on millions of real-world business outcomes across the U.S. StreetSpring measures competition through a 30-factor framework. StreetSpring's predictions leverage proprietary datasets covering competition, spending, and mobility.
Related Resources
City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:
- Survivability Rankings for Beauty Salon in Chicago
- Business Survivability Rankings: Chicago
- Survivability Rankings for Beauty Salon in Tampa Bay
- Business Survivability Rankings: Tampa Bay
- Survivability Rankings for Beauty Salon in Philadelphia
- Business Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- Survivability Rankings for Beauty Salon in San Diego
- Business Survivability Rankings: San Diego
- Survivability Rankings for Beauty Salon in Portland
- Business Survivability Rankings: Portland
National guides:
- National Neighborhood Survivability Rankings for Beauty Salons
- Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: Chicago
How current is this ranking?
Rankings are updated quarterly. The current data reflects StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with the next full dataset refresh scheduled for Q3 2026. As market conditions shift across major metros, individual city scores can move meaningfully between updates — particularly for Beauty Salons, where local competition density and consumer spending patterns respond quickly to new entrants and neighborhood change. For the most current score at any specific address, use StreetSpring's live survivability tool rather than the static ranking above.
Can a Beauty Salon succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
Yes — our top 10 ranking reflects cities with the strongest average conditions, but lower-ranked metros can still contain exceptional individual neighborhoods. Many operators successfully open Beauty Salons in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Beauty Salons in particular can find strong performance in secondary markets where the right demographic concentration, household income, and limited direct competition within walking distance align — even outside our highest-ranked cities. StreetSpring's neighborhood-level data surfaces these pockets of opportunity in every city we analyze, regardless of where the city as a whole ranks nationally.
What tools can help me choose the right city for a Beauty Salon?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Beauty Salons across all 11 metros we track. For this category specifically, the tool surfaces competition density, consumer spending index for Beauty Salons, and commercial vacancy rates — the factors that most consistently predict whether a Beauty Salon will still be operating after two years. You can check any specific address before signing a lease and compare multiple neighborhoods side by side to identify the highest-survivability site within your target city.
Try the Survivability Score tool →
Which US city has the best survivability for Beauty Salon?
Chicago ranks as the #1 city in the US for Beauty Salon survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average score of 73%. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Chicago, a Beauty Salon has approximately a 73% chance of still operating after two years — above the national average for this category. Tampa Bay ranks second, followed by Philadelphia. The full ranking reflects data across 11 major US metro areas — see the complete list above for all scores and neighborhood-level links.
Technical note: Aggregated national survivability rankings across all 25 metros are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and foot traffic data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.
Methodology: City rankings aggregate neighborhood-level Survivability Scores (max, average, and min) across all analyzed neighborhoods in each metro area. Rankings reflect average conditions but do not account for variation within cities. Coverage includes 11 major US metropolitan areas: Chicago, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, San Diego, Portland, San Antonio, Charlotte, Atlanta, Denver, St Louis, Baltimore.