Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Clothing and shoe stores in the Lancaster, PA metro area

How the Lancaster, PA 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #122 of 387 scored metro areas
#13 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
337
185 chain locations (55%)
Official establishments
175
−13.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$496M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,331 a household
Spending per listing
$1.5M
16% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.8
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
563,159
+1.9% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 337 clothing and shoe stores in the Lancaster metro area. Chain locations make up 55% of them, against 44% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 15.8, 2% below the U.S. rate of 16.2.

Households in the Lancaster metro area spend about $496M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $2,331 per household, 13% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1.5M per store, 16% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Lancaster metro area was 175 in 2023, down 13.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,216 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Official counts also show 321 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $270K have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Lancaster metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Lancaster metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Lancaster metro area scores 61 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for clothing and shoe stores, ranking #122 of 387 scored metro areas and #13 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Lancaster metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Lancaster, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureLancaster metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.813.716.2
Spending per listing$1.5M$1.7M$1.3M
Households per official establishment1,2161,5661,273
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−13.4%−18.3%−12.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.9%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,331$2,270$2,055
Median household income$86,959$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score6172

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
175−13.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,326
Annual payroll, 2023
$45.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
321Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
337185 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
390The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$270K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
563,159+1.9% since 2020
Households
212,748
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
944 sq. mi.
People per square mile
591
Median household income
$86,959+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,346
Median home value
$301,100
Jobs located here
258,003
Daytime population
553,680Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for clothing and shoe stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lebanon, PA87254.4$5M+2.2%#8 of 387
2Chambersburg, PA87528.2$2.6M+3.0%#9 of 387
3York-Hanover, PA871809.9$2.3M+3.6%#10 of 387
4Reading, PA851619.9$2.3M+2.7%#12 of 387
5Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ8336310.7$2.2M+3.0%#14 of 387
6Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA7432913.4$1.7M+4.2%#42 of 387
7State College, PA737412.5$1.8M−0.4%#45 of 387
8Gettysburg, PA715714.0$1.6M+3.6%#55 of 387
9Pittsburgh, PA651,44013.6$1.6M−1.3%#88 of 387
10Johnstown, PA646311.3$1.7M−3.2%#97 of 387
13Lancaster, PA6133715.8$1.5M+1.9%#122 of 387

Other business types in the Lancaster 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 Lancaster, PA metro area?

There are 337 clothing and shoe stores on map listings in the Lancaster metro area as of September 2026. 185 of them (55%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 175 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023, down 13.4% from 2019. Another 321 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $496M a year, or $2,331 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 337 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $1.5M 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 212,748 households in the Lancaster metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Lancaster metro area has 15.8 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $1.5M, 16% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the Lancaster metro area would have about 390, against 337 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,216 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. The official count fell 13.4% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Lancaster, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Lancaster metro area at 563,159 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 212,748 households. The median household income in the Lancaster metro area is $86,959 a year, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.6% 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 Lancaster metro area scores 61 for clothing and shoe stores (upper middle), #122 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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.