Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Alabama

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area

How the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #292 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
221
81 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments
106
−1.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$184.2M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,743 a household
Spending per listing
$834K
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
20.9
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
281,850
+2.9% since 2020

See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Tuscaloosa metro area

The site report maps the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Tuscaloosa metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Tuscaloosa metro area is 35 (lower middle), #292 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the Tuscaloosa metro area spend about $184.2M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $1,743 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $834K of household spending for each business on map listings, 5% below the U.S. figure of $880K.

The Tuscaloosa metro area has 221 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 81 of them (37%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 20.9 for every 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 23.3.

Official counts show 106 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Tuscaloosa metro area in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. That is one for every 997 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Tuscaloosa metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.9%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Tuscaloosa metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Clothing, shoes and laundry in Tuscaloosa, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureTuscaloosa metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households20.922.823.3
Spending per listing$834K$779K$880K
Households per official establishment9971,0201,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−1.9%−9.6%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.9%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,743$1,778$2,055
Median household income$61,517$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score3532

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
106−1.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,209
Annual payroll, 2023
$20.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
263Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
22181 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
209The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Tuscaloosa metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Tuscaloosa metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
281,850+2.9% since 2020
Households
105,683
Median age
36.6
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
3,493 sq. mi.
People per square mile
80
Median household income
$61,517+22.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,019
Median home value
$230,700
Jobs located here
106,684
Daytime population
281,020Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Tuscaloosa metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Tuscaloosa metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Clothing, shoes and laundry across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Tuscaloosa metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Huntsville, AL6544621.7$945K+12.5%#97 of 387
2Auburn-Opelika, AL5712516.3$1.1M+7.1%#147 of 387
3Decatur, AL5312820.4$879K+2.5%#184 of 387
4Tuscaloosa, AL3522120.9$834K+2.9%#292 of 387
5Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL3333734.2$562K+14.8%#305 of 387
6Birmingham, AL311,18425.5$740K+1.4%#313 of 387
7Montgomery, AL2833422.1$798K+0.9%#326 of 387
8Gadsden, AL289223.3$687K+0.4%#329 of 387
9Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL2815925.0$685K+3.5%#330 of 387
10Dothan, AL2317528.7$586K+3.4%#349 of 387

Other business types in the Tuscaloosa metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many clothing, shoe and laundry businesses are in the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 221 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Tuscaloosa metro area. 81 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 106 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. Another 263 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $184.2M a year, or $1,743 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 221 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $834K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 105,683 households in the Tuscaloosa metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?

The Tuscaloosa metro area has 20.9 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $834K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the U.S. ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Tuscaloosa metro area would have about 209, against 221 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 997 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.9% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Tuscaloosa metro area at 281,850 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 105,683 households. The median household income in the Tuscaloosa metro area is $61,517 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.0% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Tuscaloosa metro area scores 35 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (lower middle), #292 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Tuscaloosa metro area. It maps the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses · All 56 business types in the Tuscaloosa metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Tuscaloosa metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Tuscaloosa metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.