Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Massachusetts
Clothing and shoe stores in the Worcester, MA metro area
The clothing and shoe stores in the Worcester, MA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 90 out of 100: Very high
Ranked #2 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 314
- 157 chain locations (50%)
- Official establishments
- 126
- −22.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $847.2M
- On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,523 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 2.1 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.4
- 42% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 888,502
- +3.7% since 2020
See the clothing and shoe stores around any address in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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
For clothing and shoe stores, the Worcester metro area has a Groundwork market score of 90 (very high): #2 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for clothing and shoe stores.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 314 clothing and shoe stores in the Worcester metro area. Of those, 157 are chain locations, or 50%, against 44% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.4, 42% below the U.S. rate of 16.2.
Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Worcester metro area comes to about $847.2M a year: $2,523 per household, 23% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.7M of household spending for each store on map listings, 2.1 times 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 Worcester metro area was 126 in 2023, down 22.7% from 2019. That is one for every 2,665 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $200K have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Worcester metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Worcester metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Worcester metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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.
| Measure | Worcester metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.4 | 16.2 | 16.2 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $1.7M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,665 | 1,233 | 1,273 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −22.7% | −12.9% | −12.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.7% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services | $2,523 | $2,675 | $2,055 |
| Median household income | $95,939 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 90 | 69 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 126−22.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,299
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $46.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 550Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 314157 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 667The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $200K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Worcester 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 Worcester metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 888,502+3.7% since 2020
- Households
- 335,826
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,511 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 574
- Median household income
- $95,939
- Average household income
- $124,653
- Median home value
- $423,700
- Jobs located here
- 355,505
- Daytime population
- 797,239Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Worcester 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 Worcester metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardClothing and shoe stores across Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for clothing and shoe stores, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Worcester metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 93 | 52 | 8.4 | $2.9M | +10.4% | #1 of 387 |
| 2Worcester, MA | 90 | 314 | 9.4 | $2.7M | +3.7% | #2 of 387 |
| 3Springfield, MA | 69 | 230 | 12.5 | $1.7M | +0.2% | #64 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 68 | 1,015 | 15.0 | $1.6M | +2.1% | #71 of 387 |
| 4Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 66 | 3,281 | 16.9 | $1.7M | +2.3% | #82 of 387 |
| 5Barnstable Town, MA | 34 | 313 | 29.6 | $863K | +2.4% | #299 of 387 |
| 6Pittsfield, MA | 30 | 138 | 24.0 | $940K | −1.2% | #314 of 387 |
Other business types in the Worcester 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 laundry88
- Clothing and shoe stores90
- Laundromats63
- Dry cleaners67
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many clothing and shoe stores are in the Worcester, MA metro area?
There are 314 clothing and shoe stores on map listings in the Worcester metro area as of September 2026. 157 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 126 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023, down 22.7% from 2019. Official counts list 550 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Worcester, MA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $847.2M a year, or $2,523 per household. That is 23% above the U.S. average (an index of 123, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 314 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 335,826 households in the Worcester metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Worcester, MA metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores?
The Worcester metro area has 9.4 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 42% below the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $2.7M, 2.1 times the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the Worcester metro area would have about 667, against 314 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,665 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. The official count fell 22.7% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Worcester, MA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Worcester metro area at 888,502 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,826 households. The median household income in the Worcester metro area is $95,939 a year, 19% above 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 Worcester metro area scores 90 for clothing and shoe stores (very high), #2 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 Worcester 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 Worcester metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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.