Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Connecticut

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area

The clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #144 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut

Listings
278
135 chain locations (49%)
Official establishments
109
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$273.2M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,360 a household
Spending per listing
$983K
12% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
24.0
3% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
284,015
+2.0% since 2020

See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 278 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area. 135 of them (49%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 24.0 for every 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 23.3.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area comes to about $273.2M a year: $2,360 per household, 15% above the U.S. average. That works out to $983K per business, 12% above the U.S. figure of $880K.

In 2023, official counts showed 109 businesses with payroll in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. That is one for every 1,062 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Official counts also show 125 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $150K has gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area is 58 (upper middle), #144 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut.

How the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area compares

The same measures for Connecticut 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureNorwich-New London-Willimantic metro areaConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households24.024.523.3
Spending per listing$983K$1M$880K
Households per official establishment1,0629651,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−15.5%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.0%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,360$2,564$2,055
Median household income$86,586$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score5864

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
109
Employees, 2023
1,369
Annual payroll, 2023
$30.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
125Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
278135 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
310The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$150K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
284,015+2.0% since 2020
Households
115,768
Median age
42.3
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
468
Median household income
$86,586
Average household income
$111,769
Median home value
$323,400
Jobs located here
118,380
Daytime population
270,328Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Connecticut

Metro areas in Connecticut ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waterbury-Shelton, CT8826814.9$1.6M+3.2%#6 of 387
2Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT681,04322.4$1.1M+3.0%#68 of 387
3Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT5827824.0$983K+2.0%#144 of 387
4New Haven, CT5261826.8$915K+2.5%#193 of 387
5Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT461,21134.1$839K+3.7%#235 of 387

Other business types in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area?

The Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area has 278 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 135 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 109 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023. Another 125 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $273.2M a year, or $2,360 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 278 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $983K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 115,768 households in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?

The Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area has 24.0 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $983K, 12% above the U.S. figure of $880K. At the national ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area would have about 310, against 278 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,062 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S.

How fast is the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area at 284,015 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 115,768 households. Median household income in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area is $86,586, 7% above the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area scores 58 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (upper middle), #144 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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.