How to Choose the Right Location for Your Med Spa

Your med spa's location can make all the difference. If clients can’t find you, can’t park, or don’t feel comfortable in your neighborhood, the rest doesn’t matter. Get the location right from the start is essential since you really can’t undo this step once you sign a lease.

Learn exactly how to pick the right spot, understand your demographic, and balance the cost with long-term benefits. You'll also see how Portrait can help you nail every step, from research to setup.

How to Pick the Best Spot for Your Med Spa

Before you start touring spaces, don’t just think about your budget. Think about what will make your business thrive.

Ask yourself: What kind of med spa are you building? Are you aiming for high-net-worth clients who’ll drive for luxury service, or do you want to be the convenient option for busy professionals? Your answer should guide everything, from what part of town you choose to how your building is set up.

• Can people find you easily from main roads?
• Is parking easy? Can clients hop on public transit?
• Are you close to gyms, salons, or wellness centers?
• Does the building meet zoning and local medical facility rules?
• What does the lease include? Thing like improvement allowances, rent structure, and costs over time?
• Is the area packed with competitors or is there room to stand out?

Get to Know Local Demographics and Your Ideal Client

Your best location puts you right in front of your perfect clients. Too many med spa owners pick the cheaper rent and then wonder why it’s hard to fill the schedule.

Dig into who lives and works nearby. Usually, the average med spa patient is female, 35 to 54 years old, and lives in a household making over $75,000 per year. But that’s just the start.

If you do preventive Botox or dermal fillers, you might pull in a younger crowd. If you’re offering body contouring or advanced laser skin treatment, you’ll probably attract older, higher-income folks.

Use census data and income stats for the neighborhoods you’re eyeing. Ask yourself:

• Are there enough people in your target age and income bracket within 10-15 minutes?
• Do locals already spend on wellness, fitness, and aesthetics?

Regional style matters. What’s hot in Miami or Dallas might land differently in New York or LA. Matching your menu and marketing to local preferences gets better results.

Accessibility and Visibility Are Critical

If clients can’t get to you easily, they probably won’t stick around. Convenience matters to most, in fact, 68% of clients say so.

Don’t skip the parking. Treatments sometimes cause minor swelling or downtime, so nobody wants to drive in circles looking for a spot or walk blocks from a garage. A decent-size, safe parking lot makes the right first impression.

Good visibility helps too. Signage facing a busy road boosts awareness, and being near gyms, boutiques, or wellness spots creates chances for referrals. Incidental traffic can turn into new clients.

If you’re in a city, being near public transit doesn’t hurt, but don’t count on it alone. Most patients appreciate privacy, so they’ll use their own car most of the time.

Competition and Market Gaps

Being near other med spas isn’t always bad. That said, the closer you are, the more intense the competition is. If you're close by competitors, you need to check out your competition and find the open spaces in the market.

Do a simple audit before you lock in a site:

• Visit other med spas. What’s on their menu? Are reviews positive? What’s their patient experience like?
• Are they heavy on injectables, or do they do advanced laser treatments and body sculpting too?
• Is the place more clinical or spa-like?
• Is anyone offering IV therapy, hormone replacement, or wellness services? Med spas that expand into wellness see their revenue grow faster.

Look for neighborhoods with demand but not enough supply. If there are already tons of Botox clinics, maybe you should offer unique energy-based skin resurfacing or the latest microneedling protocols. Avoid crammed markets unless your offer stands out on price, quality, or unique services.

Balancing Costs and Setting Up for Long-Term ROI

Location is a huge piece of your budget. You’ll need to balance rent with projected patient volume. Building out the space usually costs between $600,000 and $900,000. Rents typically fall between $3,000 and $8,000 per month, but check for all fees. Costs like CAM fees can add up fast.

Check your lease for these:

• Base rent (is it fixed or does it increase?)
• Common area maintenance (CAM) fees
• Tenant improvement dollars (will the landlord help you set up treatment rooms or upgrade HVAC?)

Think ahead. You want a location that supports more providers, more rooms, and future growth. Most med spas break even in 12 to 24 months, so make sure your site can carry you through that period and beyond.

Lease or buy? Leasing gives you flexibility, and is nice if you plan to open more locations. Buying ties up capital but lets you build equity if you know you want to stay put long-term.

Use the Right Tools and Expertise

Don’t do this alone. The best owners lean on advisors, easy-to-use software, and people with experience. Portrait’s platform is built for this. We gather data on your market, audit competitors, and help you design a pricing strategy that fits local spending habits.

We’ll help you find and secure a facility that matches your goals and meets all healthcare regulations, including zoning, ADA access, medical-grade equipment, and proper infection control.

And once you're open, the Portrait platform handles scheduling, charting, billing, and inventory. You’ll also get discounts on supplies, connections to industry-specific lawyers, and more.

Set Up Your Med Spa for Lasting Success

Location is a big decision with long-term effects. Get it right, and you’ll build a loyal patient base, fill up the schedule, and get strong returns. Get it wrong, and it’s tough to recover.

Remember, you're not on your own. Portrait is here to help with research, facility checks, compliance, and software to run your daily ops. From your first property tour through grand opening and growth, we’ll give you what you need to run your med spa right.

If you’re ready to pick a location and grow a med spa that stands the test of time, let Portrait help you get started.