Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Alabama

Clothing and shoe stores in the Montgomery, AL metro area

How the Montgomery, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #330 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
254
113 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
139
−4.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$266.7M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,761 a household
Spending per listing
$1M
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.8
4% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
388,747
+0.9% since 2020

See the clothing and shoe stores around any address in the Montgomery metro area

The site report maps the clothing and shoe stores 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 Montgomery 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

For clothing and shoe stores, the Montgomery metro area has a Groundwork market score of 27 (lower middle): #330 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 254 clothing and shoe stores in the Montgomery metro area. Chain locations make up 44% of them, against 44% across the U.S. That is 16.8 per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 16.2.

At $1,761 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Montgomery metro area spend about $266.7M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. Spread across 254 clothing and shoe stores, that is $1M per store, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which clothing and shoe stores share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Montgomery metro area was 139 in 2023, down 4.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,089 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $216K has gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Montgomery metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Montgomery metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Montgomery metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the clothing and shoe stores 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 and shoe stores in Montgomery, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureMontgomery metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.817.616.2
Spending per listing$1M$1M$1.3M
Households per official establishment1,0891,1691,273
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−4.2%−7.5%−12.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,761$1,778$2,055
Median household income$64,010$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score2726

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
139−4.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,790
Annual payroll, 2023
$30M
One-person businesses, 2023
305Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
254113 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
210The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$216K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Montgomery 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 Montgomery metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
388,747+0.9% since 2020
Households
151,438
Median age
38.8
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,714 sq. mi.
People per square mile
142
Median household income
$64,010+21.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,716
Median home value
$191,900
Jobs located here
168,224
Daytime population
403,321Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Montgomery 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 and shoe stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Montgomery metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Clothing and shoe stores across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for clothing and shoe stores, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Montgomery metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for clothing and shoe stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Huntsville, AL6532515.8$1.3M+12.5%#96 of 387
2Auburn-Opelika, AL519912.9$1.4M+7.1%#200 of 387
3Decatur, AL489915.8$1.1M+2.5%#217 of 387
4Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL3326927.3$705K+14.8%#305 of 387
5Tuscaloosa, AL2918417.4$1M+2.9%#319 of 387
6Birmingham, AL2893220.0$940K+1.4%#325 of 387
7Montgomery, AL2725416.8$1M+0.9%#330 of 387
8Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL2612619.8$864K+3.5%#335 of 387
9Gadsden, AL256917.5$915K+0.4%#339 of 387
10Dothan, AL2113121.5$782K+3.4%#357 of 387

Other business types in the Montgomery metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many clothing and shoe stores are in the Montgomery, AL metro area?

There are 254 clothing and shoe stores on map listings in the Montgomery metro area as of September 2026. 113 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 139 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023, down 4.2% from 2019. Official counts list 305 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $266.7M a year, or $1,761 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 254 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $1M per store. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only clothing and shoe stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 151,438 households in the Montgomery metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Montgomery, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores?

The Montgomery metro area has 16.8 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $1M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the Montgomery metro area would have about 210, against 254 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,089 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.2% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Montgomery, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Montgomery metro area at 388,747 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 151,438 households. The median household income in the Montgomery metro area is $64,010 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.6% 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 Montgomery metro area scores 27 for clothing and shoe stores (lower middle), #330 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 Montgomery metro area. It maps the clothing and shoe stores 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 and shoe stores · All 56 business types in the Montgomery metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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.