Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Kentucky

Clothing and shoe stores in the Owensboro, KY metro area

How the Owensboro, KY 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #270 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky

Listings
76
36 chain locations (47%)
Official establishments
28
−17.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$79.9M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,765 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.8
4% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
113,962
+1.3% since 2020

See the clothing and shoe stores around any address in the Owensboro 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 Owensboro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 76 clothing and shoe stores in the Owensboro metro area. 36 of them (47%) are chain locations, against 44% across the U.S. That is 16.8 per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 16.2.

Households in the Owensboro metro area spend about $79.9M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $1,765 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 76 clothing and shoe stores, that is $1.1M 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.

Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Owensboro metro area in 2023, down 17.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,617 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Official counts list 42 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Owensboro metro area grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for clothing and shoe stores in the Owensboro metro area is 40 (lower middle), #270 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.

How the Owensboro metro area compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Owensboro, KY metro area compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureOwensboro metro areaKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.815.016.2
Spending per listing$1.1M$1.2M$1.3M
Households per official establishment1,6171,5521,273
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−17.6%−15.5%−12.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,765$1,761$2,055
Median household income$68,002$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score4042

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
28−17.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
345
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
42Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7636 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
63The 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 in the Owensboro 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 Owensboro metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
113,962+1.3% since 2020
Households
45,280
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
711 sq. mi.
People per square mile
159
Median household income
$68,002
Average household income
$89,111
Median home value
$195,400
Jobs located here
48,709
Daytime population
113,540Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Owensboro 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 Owensboro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Clothing and shoe stores across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for clothing and shoe stores, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Owensboro metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Kentucky

Metro areas in Kentucky ranked for clothing and shoe stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN651,30114.3$1.4M+2.7%#94 of 387
Clarksville, TN-KY5717013.6$1.3M+8.5%#161 of 387
1Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN5284915.2$1.3M+2.9%#196 of 387
2Elizabethtown, KY448917.6$1M+2.4%#239 of 387
3Bowling Green, KY4211716.0$1.1M+9.5%#255 of 387
4Owensboro, KY407616.8$1.1M+1.3%#270 of 387
5Lexington-Fayette, KY3840818.9$1M+3.4%#280 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH3421614.2$1.2M−2.6%#295 of 387
6Paducah, KY-IL1011427.3$645K−1.2%#385 of 387

Other business types in the Owensboro 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 Owensboro, KY metro area?

There are 76 clothing and shoe stores on map listings in the Owensboro metro area as of September 2026. 36 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023, down 17.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 42 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $79.9M a year, or $1,765 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 76 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $1.1M 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 45,280 households in the Owensboro metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Owensboro 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 $1.1M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the Owensboro metro area would have about 63, against 76 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,617 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. The official count fell 17.6% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Owensboro, KY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Owensboro metro area at 113,962 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 45,280 households. The median household income in the Owensboro metro area is $68,002 a year, 16% 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 Owensboro metro area scores 40 for clothing and shoe stores (lower middle), #270 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 Owensboro 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 Owensboro metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Owensboro 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 Owensboro 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.