Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · North Carolina

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Burlington, NC metro area

How the Burlington, NC 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 27 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #337 of 387 scored metro areas
#15 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
201
110 chain locations (55%)
Official establishments
105
−9.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$122.8M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,753 a household
Spending per listing
$611K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
28.7
23% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
186,177
+8.5% since 2020

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

The Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Burlington metro area is 27 (lower middle), #337 of 387 scored metro areas and #15 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 201 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Burlington metro area. 110 of them (55%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 28.7, 23% above the U.S. rate of 23.3.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Burlington metro area comes to about $122.8M a year: $1,753 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $611K of household spending for each business on map listings, 31% below the U.S. figure of $880K.

In 2023, official counts showed 105 businesses with payroll in the Burlington metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners, down 9.5% from 2019. That is one for every 667 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Burlington metro area grew 8.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Burlington metro area compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Burlington, NC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureBurlington metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households28.721.023.3
Spending per listing$611K$904K$880K
Households per official establishment6671,0531,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−9.5%−8.3%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+8.5%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,753$1,894$2,055
Median household income$65,651$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score2750

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
105−9.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,325
Annual payroll, 2023
$23.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
97Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
201110 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
140The 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 Burlington 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 Burlington metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
186,177+8.5% since 2020
Households
70,062
Median age
39.7
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
424 sq. mi.
People per square mile
418
Median household income
$65,651+32.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,032
Median home value
$241,500
Jobs located here
69,257
Daytime population
166,616Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Burlington 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 Burlington 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 North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Burlington metro area marked.

Top metro areas in North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina ranked for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Durham-Chapel Hill, NC8042417.1$1.2M+7.5%#21 of 387
2Raleigh-Cary, NC721,22821.4$1M+12.6%#49 of 387
3Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC639220.9$950K+10.3%#110 of 387
4Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC592,37822.1$926K+10.1%#135 of 387
5Jacksonville, NC5613718.2$956K+6.0%#159 of 387
6Winston-Salem, NC5552218.5$964K+5.3%#165 of 387
7Goldsboro, NC488718.3$919K+3.8%#218 of 387
8Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC4828419.0$900K+3.2%#220 of 387
9Wilmington, NC4547924.0$798K+15.9%#242 of 387
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC441,52921.6$920K+0.9%#247 of 387
15Burlington, NC2720128.7$611K+8.5%#337 of 387

Other business types in the Burlington 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 Burlington, NC metro area?

There are 201 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings in the Burlington metro area as of September 2026. 110 of them (55%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 105 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, down 9.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 97 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $122.8M a year, or $1,753 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 201 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $611K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 70,062 households in the Burlington metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Burlington metro area has 28.7 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $611K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the national ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Burlington metro area would have about 140, against 201 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 667 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. The official count fell 9.5% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Burlington, NC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Burlington metro area at 186,177 people in 2025, up 8.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 70,062 households. Median household income in the Burlington metro area is $65,651, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.1%, 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 Burlington metro area scores 27 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (lower middle), #337 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 Burlington 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 Burlington metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Burlington 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 Burlington 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.