Clothing and laundry · Metro area · North Carolina
Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Wilmington, NC metro area
The clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Wilmington, NC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #242 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 479
- 149 chain locations (31%)
- Official establishments
- 243
- +8.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $382M
- On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,917 a household
- Spending per listing
- $798K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 24.0
- 3% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 492,772
- +15.9% since 2020
See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 479 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Wilmington metro area. Of those, 149 are chain locations, or 31%, against 37% across the U.S. That is 24.0 per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 23.3.
At $1,917 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Wilmington metro area spend about $382M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. That works out to $798K per business, 9% below the U.S. figure of $880K.
In 2023, official counts showed 243 businesses with payroll in the Wilmington metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners, up 8.1% from 2019. That is one for every 820 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Official counts also show 328 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $1.6M have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Wilmington metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Wilmington metro area grew 15.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, the Wilmington metro area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #242 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.
How the Wilmington 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.
| Measure | Wilmington metro area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 24.0 | 21.0 | 23.3 |
| Spending per listing | $798K | $904K | $880K |
| Households per official establishment | 820 | 1,053 | 1,008 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.1% | −8.3% | −12.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +15.9% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services | $1,917 | $1,894 | $2,055 |
| Median household income | $76,471 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 243+8.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,006
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $42.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 328Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 479149 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 434The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $1.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 492,772+15.9% since 2020
- Households
- 199,271
- Median age
- 45.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,913 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 237
- Median household income
- $76,471
- Average household income
- $104,427
- Median home value
- $362,400
- Jobs located here
- 180,798
- Daytime population
- 448,307Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardClothing, 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 Wilmington metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 80 | 424 | 17.1 | $1.2M | +7.5% | #21 of 387 |
| 2Raleigh-Cary, NC | 72 | 1,228 | 21.4 | $1M | +12.6% | #49 of 387 |
| 3Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | 63 | 92 | 20.9 | $950K | +10.3% | #110 of 387 |
| 4Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 59 | 2,378 | 22.1 | $926K | +10.1% | #135 of 387 |
| 5Jacksonville, NC | 56 | 137 | 18.2 | $956K | +6.0% | #159 of 387 |
| 6Winston-Salem, NC | 55 | 522 | 18.5 | $964K | +5.3% | #165 of 387 |
| 7Goldsboro, NC | 48 | 87 | 18.3 | $919K | +3.8% | #218 of 387 |
| 8Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 48 | 284 | 19.0 | $900K | +3.2% | #220 of 387 |
| 9Wilmington, NC | 45 | 479 | 24.0 | $798K | +15.9% | #242 of 387 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 44 | 1,529 | 21.6 | $920K | +0.9% | #247 of 387 |
Other business types in the Wilmington metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
- Clothing, shoes and laundry45
- Clothing and shoe stores44
- Laundromats72
- Dry cleaners69
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many clothing, shoe and laundry businesses are in the Wilmington, NC metro area?
The Wilmington metro area has 479 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 149 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 243 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023, up 8.1% from 2019. Another 328 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Wilmington, NC metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $382M a year, or $1,917 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 479 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $798K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 199,271 households in the Wilmington metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Wilmington, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?
The Wilmington metro area has 24.0 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $798K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $880K. At the national ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Wilmington metro area would have about 434, against 479 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 820 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.1% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Wilmington, NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Wilmington metro area at 492,772 people in 2025, up 15.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 199,271 households. Median household income in the Wilmington metro area is $76,471, 5% 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 Wilmington metro area scores 45 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (lower middle), #242 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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.