Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · New York

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Rochester, NY metro area

How the Rochester, NY 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #77 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
843
331 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
335
−15.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$985.1M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,210 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
33% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
18.9
19% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,056,149
−0.7% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 843 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Rochester metro area. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 18.9, 19% below the U.S. rate of 23.3.

At $2,210 per household (8% above the U.S. average), households in the Rochester metro area spend about $985.1M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. Spread across 843 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, that is $1.2M per business, 33% above the U.S. figure of $880K.

Official counts show 335 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Rochester metro area in 2023, down 15.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,331 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Another 526 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $3.7M have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Rochester metro area.

Population estimates show the Rochester metro area declined 0.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, the Rochester metro area has a Groundwork market score of 67 (upper middle): #77 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Rochester metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Rochester, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureRochester metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households18.931.723.3
Spending per listing$1.2M$772K$880K
Households per official establishment1,3316631,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−15.2%−15.4%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.7%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,210$2,448$2,055
Median household income$76,284$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score6727

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
335−15.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,074
Annual payroll, 2023
$82.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
526Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
843331 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,119The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
12
Amount
$3.7M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
1,056,149−0.7% since 2020
Households
445,836
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
2,928 sq. mi.
People per square mile
362
Median household income
$76,284
Average household income
$100,943
Median home value
$204,600
Jobs located here
501,944
Daytime population
1,064,689Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Rochester 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 Rochester 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 New York

Every New York market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ithaca, NY776815.7$1.4M−1.4%#26 of 387
2Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY7372819.0$1.3M+1.9%#43 of 387
3Utica-Rome, NY6920617.0$1.2M−2.0%#60 of 387
4Binghamton, NY6818017.6$1.2M−1.3%#66 of 387
5Syracuse, NY6747717.6$1.3M−1.3%#75 of 387
6Rochester, NY6784318.9$1.2M−0.7%#77 of 387
7Kingston, NY6518024.2$986K+1.1%#96 of 387
8Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY581,01720.3$1.1M−0.8%#138 of 387
9Watertown-Fort Drum, NY499920.8$973K−3.9%#207 of 387
10Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY4477830.5$834K+3.0%#250 of 387

Other business types in the Rochester 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 Rochester, NY metro area?

There are 843 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings in the Rochester metro area as of September 2026. 331 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 335 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, down 15.2% from 2019. Official counts list 526 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Rochester, NY metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $985.1M a year, or $2,210 per household. That is 8% above the U.S. average (an index of 108, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 843 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 445,836 households in the Rochester metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Rochester, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?

The Rochester metro area has 18.9 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $1.2M, 33% above the U.S. figure of $880K. At the national ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Rochester metro area would have about 1,119, against 843 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,331 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. The official count fell 15.2% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Rochester, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Rochester metro area at 1,056,149 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 445,836 households. Median household income in the Rochester metro area is $76,284, 6% below 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 Rochester metro area scores 67 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (upper middle), #77 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 Rochester 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 Rochester metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rochester 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 Rochester 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.