Clothing and laundry · Small-town market · Tennessee
Clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Athens, TN area
How the Athens, TN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 76 out of 100: High
Ranked #53 of 536 scored small-town markets
#2 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee
- Listings
- 31
- 8 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $45M
- On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,701 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.5M
- 65% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.7
- 50% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 71,590
- +8.2% since 2020
See the clothing, shoe and laundry businesses around any address in the Athens 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 Athens 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
The Athens area scores 76 (high) on the Groundwork market score for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, ranking #53 of 536 scored small-town markets and #2 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 31 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses in the Athens area. Chain locations make up 26% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That is 11.7 per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 23.3.
Households in the Athens area spend about $45M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $1,701 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. Spread across 31 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, that is $1.5M per business, 65% above the U.S. figure of $880K.
Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in the Athens area in 2023. That is one for every 3,307 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Athens area grew 8.2% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Athens area compares
The same measures for Tennessee 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 | Athens area | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.7 | 22.5 | 23.3 |
| Spending per listing | $1.5M | $818K | $880K |
| Households per official establishment | 3,307 | 1,071 | 1,008 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −8.6% | −12.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +8.2% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services | $1,701 | $1,842 | $2,055 |
| Median household income | $61,438 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 76 | 44 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8
- Employees, 2023
- 54
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $770K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 46Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 318 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 51The 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 Athens 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 Athens area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 71,590+8.2% since 2020
- Households
- 26,453
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 625 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 109
- Median household income
- $61,438
- Average household income
- $81,180
- Median home value
- $205,300
- Jobs located here
- 19,824
- Daytime population
- 61,141Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Athens area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Athens 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 Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Tennessee for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Athens area marked.
Top small-town markets in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Winchester, TN | 79 | 14 | 8.0 | $2.1M | +6.4% | #34 of 536 |
| 2Athens, TN | 76 | 31 | 11.7 | $1.5M | +8.2% | #53 of 536 |
| 3Newport, TN | 75 | 10 | 6.4 | $2.4M | +5.1% | #58 of 536 |
| 4Lewisburg, TN | 72 | 26 | 19.1 | $951K | +10.5% | #87 of 536 |
| 5Crossville, TN | 71 | 26 | 9.2 | $1.8M | +8.0% | #88 of 536 |
| 6Lawrenceburg, TN | 62 | 29 | 17.1 | $947K | +6.2% | #163 of 536 |
| 7Fayetteville, TN | 58 | 23 | 15.5 | $1.1M | +4.3% | #202 of 536 |
| 8Greeneville, TN | 58 | 45 | 15.8 | $1M | +5.0% | #206 of 536 |
| 9Shelbyville, TN | 51 | 44 | 22.6 | $775K | +9.7% | #263 of 536 |
| 10Cookeville, TN | 50 | 122 | 20.8 | $793K | +7.6% | #269 of 536 |
Other business types in the Athens 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 laundry76
- Clothing and shoe stores76
- Laundromats
- Dry cleaners
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many clothing, shoe and laundry businesses are in the Athens, TN area?
There are 31 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings in the Athens area as of September 2026. 8 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and jewelry stores, laundromats and dry cleaners. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores, laundromats and dry cleaners in 2023. Another 46 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Athens, TN area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $45M a year, or $1,701 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,453 households in the Athens area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Athens, TN area compare with the U.S. for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses?
The Athens area has 11.7 clothing, shoe and laundry businesses per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 23.3. Spending per business is $1.5M, 65% above the U.S. figure of $880K. At the national ratio of clothing, shoe and laundry businesses to household spending, the Athens area would have about 51, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,307 households, against one for every 1,008 across the U.S.
How fast is the Athens, TN area growing?
Population estimates put the Athens area at 71,590 people in 2025, up 8.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,453 households. Median household income in the Athens area is $61,438, 24% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Athens area scores 76 for clothing, shoe and laundry businesses (high), #53 of 536 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Athens 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 Athens area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens 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 Athens 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.