City Survivability Rankings for Hair Salon
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Hair Salons across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Hair Salon to succeed.
Quick Summary
- The highest-survivability city for Hair Salon is Chicago — 70% average survivability
- 1 of 11 analyzed US metros score above 70% for Hair Salon survivability
- The lowest-ranked city is Denver at 59%
- National average survivability score for Hair Salon: 66.4%
- Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 11 US metro areas · Full methodology →
Table of Contents
- Summary
- Top Cities for Hair Salons
- Key Insights
- What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
- Related Resources
- How current is this ranking?
- Can a Hair Salon succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
- What tools can help me choose the right city for a Hair Salon?
- Which US city has the best survivability for Hair Salon?
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Chicago ranks as the #1 city for opening a Hair Salon in the United States, with an average 70% chance of surviving more than 2 years. Following close behind are Philadelphia with 69%, and Tampa Bay with 68%. Hair Salons sit at a national average of 66.4% survivability across our 11-city analysis, with Chicago leading the field by a meaningful margin. Market conditions change daily and it is best to use StreetSpring's most current data to ensure there have not been major shifts. 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 →
Hair Salon city survivability rankings — Chicago leads among 11 US metros at 70% in 2026
Top 10 Cities for Hair Salons
Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 11 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Hair Salons:
1. Chicago
- Best locations: 78.7% – 89.0%
- Average locations: 66.7% – 72.5%
- Challenging locations: 41.0% – 61.5%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in Chicago →
2. Philadelphia
- Best locations: 77.6% – 88.0%
- Average locations: 65.7% – 71.4%
- Challenging locations: 40.0% – 60.4%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in Philadelphia →
3. Tampa Bay
- Best locations: 76.2% – 86.0%
- Average locations: 65.1% – 70.3%
- Challenging locations: 43.0% – 60.6%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in Tampa Bay →
4. San Antonio
- Best locations: 76.6% – 87.0%
- Average locations: 65.0% – 70.3%
- Challenging locations: 43.0% – 60.5%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in San Antonio →
5. San Diego
- Best locations: 76.0% – 86.0%
- Average locations: 64.4% – 70.0%
- Challenging locations: 39.0% – 59.2%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in San Diego →
6. Baltimore
- Best locations: 75.2% – 86.0%
- Average locations: 63.7% – 68.7%
- Challenging locations: 44.0% – 59.6%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in Baltimore →
7. Portland
- Best locations: 74.7% – 85.0%
- Average locations: 63.3% – 68.6%
- Challenging locations: 41.0% – 58.7%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in Portland →
8. Atlanta
- Best locations: 74.7% – 85.0%
- Average locations: 62.8% – 68.6%
- Challenging locations: 37.0% – 57.5%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in Atlanta →
9. Charlotte
- Best locations: 75.0% – 86.0%
- Average locations: 63.2% – 68.3%
- Challenging locations: 43.0% – 59.0%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in Charlotte →
10. St Louis
- Best locations: 73.7% – 87.0%
- Average locations: 59.4% – 65.8%
- Challenging locations: 34.0% – 54.2%
- Explore Hair Salon neighborhoods in St Louis →
Key Insights
Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Chicago at 70.2%) and the #10 city (St Louis at 62.9%) is 7.4 percentage points. City-selection impact for Hair Salons is evident in the 1.1-point difference between Chicago and Philadelphia — operators who optimize location stand to gain a meaningful survivability edge.
Challenging markets: 1 city falls below 60% survivability, suggesting more difficult market conditions.
National average: Across all 11 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Hair Salon is 66.4%.
What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Hair Salons:
- Strong survivability signals: Chicago leads with a 70% average survivability score for Hair Salons — significantly above the national average for this business category.
- Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Hair Salons, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
- Low market saturation: Top cities for Hair Salons have fewer direct competitors per square mile than lower-ranked metros, leaving meaningful whitespace for well-positioned new entrants.
- Geographic distribution: The top cities span multiple U.S. regions, giving franchise operators or multi-location owners diverse market options without concentrating risk.
StreetSpring brings credibility through AI-driven survivability forecasts, trusted nationwide by agents and entrepreneurs. Our models are built using machine learning trained on millions of commercial real estate data points. The prediction engine behind these rankings is entirely proprietary — developed in-house over years of research.
Related Resources
City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:
- Survivability Rankings for Hair Salon in Chicago
- Business Survivability Rankings: Chicago
- Survivability Rankings for Hair Salon in Philadelphia
- Business Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- Survivability Rankings for Hair Salon in Tampa Bay
- Business Survivability Rankings: Tampa Bay
- Survivability Rankings for Hair Salon in San Antonio
- Business Survivability Rankings: San Antonio
- Survivability Rankings for Hair Salon in San Diego
- Business Survivability Rankings: San Diego
National guides:
- National Neighborhood Survivability Rankings for Hair 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 Hair 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 Hair 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 Hair Salons in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Hair 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 Hair Salon?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Hair Salons across all 11 metros we track. For this category specifically, the tool surfaces competition density, consumer spending index for Hair Salons, and commercial vacancy rates — the factors that most consistently predict whether a Hair 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 Hair Salon?
Chicago ranks as the #1 city in the US for Hair Salon survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average score of 70%. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Chicago, a Hair Salon has approximately a 70% chance of still operating after two years — above the national average for this category. Philadelphia ranks second, followed by Tampa Bay. 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, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, San Antonio, San Diego, Baltimore, Portland, Atlanta, Charlotte, St Louis, Denver.