Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Small-town market · Kansas

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

How the Liberal, KS area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 18 out of 100: Low

Ranked #511 of 536 scored small-town markets
#13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas

Listings
26
17 chain locations (65%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$13M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,793 a household
Spending per listing
$500K
43% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
35.8
54% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
21,073
−3.6% since 2020

See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Liberal 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 Liberal 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 Liberal area scores 18 (low) on the Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, ranking #511 of 536 scored small-town markets and #13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Liberal area comes to about $13M a year: $1,793 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. That works out to $500K per business, 43% below the U.S. figure of $880K.

The Liberal area has 26 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 17 are chain locations, or 65%, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 35.8, 54% above the U.S. rate of 23.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Liberal area was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 605 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Liberal area declined 3.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Liberal 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 Liberal, KS area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureLiberal areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households35.819.823.3
Spending per listing$500K$1M$880K
Households per official establishment6051,2241,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−10.9%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.6%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,793$1,989$2,055
Median household income$63,827$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score1854

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
119
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
7Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2617 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The 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 Liberal 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 Liberal area

Population, 2025 estimate
21,073−3.6% since 2020
Households
7,257
Median age
32.8
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
640 sq. mi.
People per square mile
34
Median household income
$63,827+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,284
Median home value
$136,500
Jobs located here
10,899
Daytime population
22,008Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Liberal 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 Liberal 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 Liberal 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
13Liberal, KS182635.8$500K−3.6%#511 of 536

Other business types in the Liberal 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 Liberal, KS area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 26 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Liberal area. 17 of them (65%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023. Official counts list 7 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $13M a year, or $1,793 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $500K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,257 households in the Liberal area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Liberal area has 35.8 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 54% above the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $500K, 43% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the U.S. ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Liberal area would have about 15, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 605 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S.

How fast is the Liberal, KS area growing?

Population estimates put the Liberal area at 21,073 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,257 households. The median household income in the Liberal area is $63,827 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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 Liberal area scores 18 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (low), #511 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 Liberal 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 Liberal area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Liberal 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 Liberal 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.