Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Michigan

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Traverse City, MI metro area

How the Traverse City, MI 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 31 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #316 of 387 scored metro areas
#14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan

Listings
194
58 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
91
−13.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$132.5M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,025 a household
Spending per listing
$683K
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.7
27% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
156,972
+2.2% since 2020

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

For clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, the Traverse City metro area has a Groundwork market score of 31 (lower middle): #316 of 387 scored metro areas and #14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

At $2,025 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Traverse City metro area spend about $132.5M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. That is about $683K of household spending for each business on map listings, 22% below the U.S. figure of $880K.

The Traverse City metro area has 194 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 58 are chain locations, or 30%, against 37% across the U.S. That is 29.7 per 10,000 households, 27% above the U.S. rate of 23.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 91 businesses with payroll in the Traverse City metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners, down 13.0% from 2019. That is one for every 719 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $484K have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Traverse City metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Traverse City metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Traverse City metro area compares

The same measures for Michigan 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 Traverse City, MI metro area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureTraverse City metro areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.719.723.3
Spending per listing$683K$1M$880K
Households per official establishment7191,2251,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−13.0%−13.5%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.2%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,025$1,975$2,055
Median household income$80,889$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score3152

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
91−13.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
593
Annual payroll, 2023
$14M
One-person businesses, 2023
85Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
19458 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
151The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$484K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Traverse 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 Traverse City metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
156,972+2.2% since 2020
Households
65,429
Median age
46.4
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,691 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$80,889+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,351
Median home value
$324,300
Jobs located here
61,451
Daytime population
155,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Traverse 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 Traverse City 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 Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Michigan

Metro areas in Michigan ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Monroe, MI80589.2$2.2M+0.7%#18 of 387
2Midland, MI795014.3$1.4M+0.3%#22 of 387
3Jackson, MI688713.9$1.3M−0.4%#64 of 387
4Ann Arbor, MI6627118.0$1.2M−0.4%#83 of 387
5Battle Creek, MI648015.0$1.2M−0.6%#98 of 387
6Bay City, MI636113.5$1.3M−1.6%#106 of 387
7Lansing-East Lansing, MI6235918.5$1M+1.4%#115 of 387
8Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI6288520.1$1M+2.8%#117 of 387
9Kalamazoo-Portage, MI6118717.5$1.1M+0.8%#121 of 387
10Niles, MI6011117.3$1.1M−1.3%#125 of 387
14Traverse City, MI3119429.7$683K+2.2%#316 of 387

Other business types in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City, MI metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 194 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Traverse City metro area. 58 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 91 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, down 13.0% from 2019. Official counts list 85 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Traverse City, MI metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $132.5M a year, or $2,025 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 194 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $683K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 65,429 households in the Traverse City metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Traverse City, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?

The Traverse City metro area has 29.7 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 27% above the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $683K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the U.S. ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Traverse City metro area would have about 151, against 194 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 719 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 Traverse City, MI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Traverse City metro area at 156,972 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 65,429 households. The median household income in the Traverse City metro area is $80,889 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.6% 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 Traverse City metro area scores 31 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (lower middle), #316 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 Traverse 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 Traverse City metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Traverse 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 Traverse 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.