Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · California

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Merced, CA metro area

The clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Merced, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #51 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
108
50 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
40
−13.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$140.7M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,635 a household
Spending per listing
$1.3M
48% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.6
46% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
297,260
+5.1% since 2020

See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Merced 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 Merced 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

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Merced metro area comes to about $140.7M a year: $1,635 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each business on map listings, 48% above the U.S. figure of $880K.

There are 108 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings in the Merced metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 46% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.6, 46% below the U.S. rate of 23.3.

Official counts show 40 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Merced metro area in 2023, down 13.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,151 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Official counts list 122 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Merced metro area grew 5.1% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Merced metro area is 71 (upper middle), #51 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Merced metro area compares

The same measures for California 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 Merced, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureMerced metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.628.023.3
Spending per listing$1.3M$746K$880K
Households per official establishment2,1518841,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−13.0%−11.0%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.1%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,635$2,085$2,055
Median household income$65,510$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score7125

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
40−13.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
652
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
122Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10850 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
160The 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 Merced 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 Merced metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
297,260+5.1% since 2020
Households
86,055
Median age
32.1
Homes lived in by their owners
54%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,938 sq. mi.
People per square mile
150
Median household income
$65,510+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,781
Median home value
$391,800
Jobs located here
77,775
Daytime population
255,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Merced 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 Merced 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 California

Every California market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yuba City, CA757512.1$1.5M+3.3%#32 of 387
2Stockton-Lodi, CA7540816.6$1.2M+5.5%#35 of 387
3Merced, CA7110812.6$1.3M+5.1%#51 of 387
4Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA701,53317.4$1.2M+3.2%#57 of 387
5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA561,59523.5$1.1M−0.6%#156 of 387
6Fresno, CA5170118.9$930K+3.2%#201 of 387
7Bakersfield-Delano, CA5050817.8$955K+2.3%#203 of 387
8Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA483,10621.4$893K+3.5%#221 of 387
9Vallejo, CA4732820.8$982K+0.6%#223 of 387
10Hanford-Corcoran, CA478018.2$919K+1.0%#225 of 387

Other business types in the Merced 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 Merced, CA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 108 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Merced metro area. 50 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 40 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, down 13.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 122 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $140.7M a year, or $1,635 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 108 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 86,055 households in the Merced metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Merced metro area has 12.6 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $1.3M, 48% above the U.S. figure of $880K. At the U.S. ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Merced metro area would have about 160, against 108 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,151 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. The official count fell 13.0% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Merced, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Merced metro area at 297,260 people in 2025, up 5.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,055 households. The median household income in the Merced metro area is $65,510 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.1% 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 Merced metro area scores 71 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (upper middle), #51 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 Merced 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 Merced metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Merced 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 Merced 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.