Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Iowa
Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Iowa City, IA metro area
How the Iowa City, IA 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 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #186 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 170
- 83 chain locations (49%)
- Official establishments
- 66
- −11.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $147.2M
- On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,036 a household
- Spending per listing
- $866K
- 2% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 23.5
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 182,711
- +4.1% since 2020
See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 170 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Iowa City metro area. Chain locations make up 49% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 23.5 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 23.3.
At $2,036 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Iowa City metro area spend about $147.2M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. Spread across 170 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, that is $866K per business, 2% below the U.S. figure of $880K.
In 2023, official counts showed 66 businesses with payroll in the Iowa City metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners, down 11.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,096 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Another 93 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $305K has gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Iowa City metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Iowa City metro area grew 4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Iowa City metro area scores 53 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, ranking #186 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Iowa City metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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.
| Measure | Iowa City metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 23.5 | 20.8 | 23.3 |
| Spending per listing | $866K | $947K | $880K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,096 | 1,340 | 1,008 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −11.0% | −14.3% | −12.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services | $2,036 | $1,967 | $2,055 |
| Median household income | $75,088 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 66−11.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 790
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $15.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 93Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 17083 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 167The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $305K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 182,711+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 72,313
- Median age
- 35.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,182 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 152
- Median household income
- $75,088+20.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $107,246
- Median home value
- $293,600
- Jobs located here
- 96,346
- Daytime population
- 190,647Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardClothing, shoes and laundry across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Iowa City metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cedar Rapids, IA | 69 | 209 | 18.3 | $1.1M | +1.0% | #61 of 387 |
| 2Ames, IA | 68 | 91 | 18.3 | $1.1M | +2.2% | #71 of 387 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 66 | 826 | 21.2 | $1M | +4.2% | #90 of 387 |
| 3Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 63 | 665 | 22.6 | $948K | +6.7% | #111 of 387 |
| 4Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 57 | 299 | 18.5 | $1.1M | −0.9% | #149 of 387 |
| 5Iowa City, IA | 53 | 170 | 23.5 | $866K | +4.1% | #186 of 387 |
| 6Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 52 | 153 | 22.0 | $860K | +0.5% | #196 of 387 |
| 7Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 36 | 151 | 27.2 | $708K | +1.0% | #291 of 387 |
| 8Dubuque, IA | 32 | 120 | 29.3 | $676K | +0.1% | #309 of 387 |
Other business types in the Iowa City metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
- Clothing, shoes and laundry53
- Clothing and shoe stores48
- Laundromats72
- Dry cleaners
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many clothing, shoe and laundry businesses are in the Iowa City, IA metro area?
The Iowa City metro area has 170 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 83 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 66 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, down 11.0% from 2019. Official counts list 93 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Iowa City, IA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $147.2M a year, or $2,036 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 170 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $866K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 72,313 households in the Iowa City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Iowa City, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?
The Iowa City metro area has 23.5 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $866K, 2% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the national ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Iowa City metro area would have about 167, against 170 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,096 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. The official count fell 11.0% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Iowa City, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Iowa City metro area at 182,711 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,313 households. Median household income in the Iowa City metro area is $75,088, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.1%, 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 Iowa City metro area scores 53 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (upper middle), #186 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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.