Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Small-town market · Kansas

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Emporia, KS area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Emporia, KS area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #394 of 536 scored small-town markets
#7 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas

Listings
36
15 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$25M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,709 a household
Spending per listing
$694K
21% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
24.6
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
34,838
+0.4% since 2020

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

Households in the Emporia area spend about $25M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $1,709 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That is about $694K of household spending for each business on map listings, 21% below the U.S. figure of $880K.

The Emporia area has 36 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 15 are chain locations, or 42%, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 24.6 for every 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 23.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 10 businesses with payroll in the Emporia area classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. That is one for every 1,463 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Official counts also show 22 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Emporia area grew 0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Emporia area scores 37 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, ranking #394 of 536 scored small-town markets and #7 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas.

How the Emporia area compares

The same measures for Kansas 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 Emporia, KS area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureEmporia areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households24.619.823.3
Spending per listing$694K$1M$880K
Households per official establishment1,4631,2241,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−10.9%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,709$1,989$2,055
Median household income$59,354$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score3754

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10
Employees, 2023
86
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
22Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3615 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
28The 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 Emporia 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 Emporia area

Population, 2025 estimate
34,838+0.4% since 2020
Households
14,628
Median age
37.2
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,621 sq. mi.
People per square mile
21
Median household income
$59,354+28.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,516
Median home value
$146,700
Jobs located here
16,443
Daytime population
32,429Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Emporia area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Emporia 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 Kansas

Every Kansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Emporia area marked.

Top small-town markets in Kansas

Small-town markets in Kansas ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ottawa, KS701514.4$1.3M+1.1%#95 of 536
2McPherson, KS652016.4$1.2M−0.4%#135 of 536
3Atchison, KS60712.2$1.4M−0.9%#175 of 536
4Arkansas City-Winfield, KS532216.4$1.1M−0.4%#243 of 536
5Hutchinson, KS514517.6$994K−0.6%#259 of 536
6Salina, KS435220.9$871K−1.4%#328 of 536
7Emporia, KS373624.6$694K+0.4%#394 of 536
8Great Bend, KS362625.0$691K−2.5%#404 of 536
9Pittsburg, KS323622.7$735K+0.1%#427 of 536
10Dodge City, KS313428.8$650K−0.6%#436 of 536

Other business types in the Emporia 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 Emporia, KS area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 36 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Emporia area. 15 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023. Another 22 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Emporia, KS area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $25M a year, or $1,709 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 36 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $694K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,628 households in the Emporia area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Emporia, KS area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?

The Emporia area has 24.6 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $694K, 21% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the U.S. ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Emporia area would have about 28, against 36 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,463 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S.

How fast is the Emporia, KS area growing?

Population estimates put the Emporia area at 34,838 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 14,628 households. The median household income in the Emporia area is $59,354 a year, 26% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.4% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Emporia area scores 37 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (lower middle), #394 of 536 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Emporia 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 Emporia area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Emporia 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 Emporia 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.