2.10.7.1Vertical

Independent Nail Salons

Single-location independently owned nail salons.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Nail Salons (2.10.7), the segment that Independent Nail Salons sits within. They are not figures for Independent Nail Salons on its own.

Market size
~$11B
Growth
~12.7%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~33,653 firms
Firms by employee count

98.5% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 33,151 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe502 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
49899%
100–499
41%
500+
00%

strong reported growth partly reflects recovery and improved reporting of a cash-heavy sector.

NAICS 812113. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Per-service fees

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$337,752
Revenue per employee
$73,307
Employees per firm
4.3
Recurring revenue
Moderate

recurring repeat visits

EBITDA margin
10–20%
Capex intensity
Low

Characteristics

  • Balanced cost base: payroll is 32% of revenue, leaving room to scale margin without cutting staff
  • Owner-operator dominated: 89% of businesses have no employees and take 51% of revenue
  • Thin strategic-buyer pool: only 0 firms exceed 500 employees, so exits skew sponsor-to-sponsor
  • Mainstreaming of regular nail care supports demand.
  • Predominantly independent and cash-operated.
  • Emerging membership and premium concepts add scalability.

NAICS 812113. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Nonemployer Statistics.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandNew JerseyConnecticutCaliforniaNew York

Nail salons cluster hard in the coastal metros, where Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York each carry roughly twice their expected share of firms and California is close behind. The pattern tracks the dense, largely immigrant-owned salon networks (notably Vietnamese-American operators) that built the modern industry.

ConnecticutNew JerseyNew YorkCalifornia

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 812113. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityEmerging

Who’s acquiring

  • Emerging nail-salon franchises
  • Premium-concept operators
  • Personal-care platforms

What’s driving deals

  • Early franchising and premium-concept development.
  • Growing demand for regular nail care.
  • Highly fragmented, largely independent base.

Find Independent Nail Salons acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Independent Nail Salons (2.10.7.1) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

Search companies