Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · North Carolina

Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area

How the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 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 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #135 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
2,378
950 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
1,102
−6.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.2B
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,046 a household
Spending per listing
$926K
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.1
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,938,830
+10.1% since 2020

See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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

At $2,046 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area spend about $2.2B a year on clothing, shoes and related services. Spread across 2,378 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, that is $926K per business, 5% above the U.S. figure of $880K.

There are 2,378 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That is 22.1 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 23.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 1,102 businesses with payroll in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners, down 6.8% from 2019. That is one for every 977 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Official counts list 2,149 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 28 SBA-backed loans worth $12.7M have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +10.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area is 59 (upper middle), #135 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.

How the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.121.023.3
Spending per listing$926K$904K$880K
Households per official establishment9771,0531,008
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−6.8%−8.3%−12.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.1%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,046$1,894$2,055
Median household income$83,304$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score5950

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,102−6.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
12,591
Annual payroll, 2023
$276.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
2,149Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,378950 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,501The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
28
Amount
$12.7M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
2,938,830+10.1% since 2020
Households
1,076,260
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
5,598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
495
Median household income
$83,304+31.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,495
Median home value
$356,400
Jobs located here
1,400,944
Daytime population
2,846,416Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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

Other business types in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 2,378 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. 950 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 1,102 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, down 6.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 2,149 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $2.2B a year, or $2,046 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,378 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $926K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,076,260 households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area has 22.1 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $926K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $880K. At the U.S. ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area would have about 2,501, against 2,378 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 977 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. The official count fell 6.8% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area at 2,938,830 people in 2025, up 10.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,076,260 households. The median household income in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area is $83,304 a year, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.8% 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores 59 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (upper middle), #135 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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.