Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Missouri

Clothing and shoe stores in the Columbia, MO metro area

How the Columbia, MO 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #159 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri

Listings
123
66 chain locations (54%)
Official establishments
67
−2.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$169.5M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,962 a household
Spending per listing
$1.4M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.2
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
219,062
+3.9% since 2020

See the clothing and shoe stores around any address in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 123 clothing and shoe stores in the Columbia metro area. 66 of them (54%) are chain locations, against 44% across the U.S. That is 14.2 per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 16.2.

At $1,962 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in the Columbia metro area spend about $169.5M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. That works out to $1.4M per store, 8% above 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 67 businesses with payroll in the Columbia metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, down 2.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,289 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Official counts list 112 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $695K have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Columbia metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Columbia metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for clothing and shoe stores in the Columbia metro area is 57 (upper middle), #159 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.

How the Columbia metro area compares

The same measures for Missouri 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 Columbia, MO metro area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureColumbia metro areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.215.216.2
Spending per listing$1.4M$1.3M$1.3M
Households per official establishment1,2891,4821,273
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.9%−14.8%−12.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,962$1,939$2,055
Median household income$72,340$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score5748

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
67−2.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
825
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
112Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
12366 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
133The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$695K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
219,062+3.9% since 2020
Households
86,393
Median age
36.4
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,714 sq. mi.
People per square mile
125
Median household income
$72,340+32.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,624
Median home value
$258,700
Jobs located here
114,165
Daytime population
231,692Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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 Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Missouri

Metro areas in Missouri ranked for clothing and shoe stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Jefferson City, MO697512.8$1.5M+2.2%#67 of 387
2Kansas City, MO-KS661,30014.5$1.5M+3.4%#86 of 387
3St. Louis, MO-IL581,69514.6$1.4M−0.2%#149 of 387
4Columbia, MO5712314.2$1.4M+3.9%#159 of 387
5Springfield, MO5330115.1$1.2M+5.1%#189 of 387
6St. Joseph, MO-KS446914.7$1.2M−2.0%#236 of 387
7Joplin, MO-KS4114618.4$961K+3.9%#266 of 387
8Cape Girardeau, MO-IL279023.5$781K+1.7%#332 of 387

Other business types in the Columbia 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 Columbia, MO metro area?

The Columbia metro area has 123 clothing and shoe stores on map listings as of September 2026. 66 of them (54%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 67 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023, down 2.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 112 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $169.5M a year, or $1,962 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 123 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $1.4M 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 86,393 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Columbia metro area has 14.2 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $1.4M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 133, against 123 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,289 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.9% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Columbia, MO metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 219,062 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,393 households. The median household income in the Columbia metro area is $72,340 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.0% 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 Columbia metro area scores 57 for clothing and shoe stores (upper middle), #159 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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.