Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Arkansas

Dry cleaners in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area

The dry cleaners in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #250 of 272 scored metro areas
#3 of 3 scored metro areas based in Arkansas

Listings
10
5 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
18
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$152.1M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,672 a household
Spending per listing
$15.2M
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.1
15% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
234,140
+3.1% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Fort Smith metro area

The site report maps the dry cleaners 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 Fort Smith 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 dry cleaners, the Fort Smith metro area has a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle): #250 of 272 scored metro areas and #3 of 3 scored metro areas based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the Fort Smith metro area spend about $152.1M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $1,672 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That is about $15.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 3% below the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners.

There are 10 dry cleaners on map listings in the Fort Smith metro area as of September 2026. 5 of them (50%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 1.1, 15% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Fort Smith metro area was 18 in 2023. That is one for every 5,055 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Fort Smith metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Fort Smith metro area compares

The same measures for Arkansas and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the dry cleaners counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Dry cleaners in Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureFort Smith metro areaArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.11.11.3
Spending per listing$15.2M$15.6M$15.7M
Households per official establishment5,05512,0608,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−13.0%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.1%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,672$1,725$2,055
Median household income$58,468$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score2539

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
18
Employees, 2023
98
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
105 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
10The 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 dry cleaning and laundry services in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
234,140+3.1% since 2020
Households
90,992
Median age
39.2
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,800 sq. mi.
People per square mile
128
Median household income
$58,468
Average household income
$82,344
Median home value
$171,200
Jobs located here
98,120
Daytime population
234,865Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fort Smith 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 dry cleaners on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Dry cleaners across Arkansas

Every Arkansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Arkansas for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Smith metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Arkansas

Metro areas in Arkansas ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR65241.1$17.9M+13.1%#50 of 272
2Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR37471.5$12M+3.8%#204 of 272
Memphis, TN-MS-AR29651.2$14.7M−0.3%#237 of 272
3Fort Smith, AR-OK25101.1$15.2M+3.1%#250 of 272
Texarkana, TX-AR8152.7$6.2M−0.4%#271 of 272

Other business types in the Fort Smith metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 10 dry cleaners in the Fort Smith metro area. 5 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023.

How much do households in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $152.1M a year, or $1,672 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $15.2M per shop. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which dry cleaners share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 90,992 households in the Fort Smith metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Fort Smith metro area has 1.1 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $15.2M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of dry cleaners to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,055 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Smith metro area at 234,140 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,992 households. Median household income in the Fort Smith metro area is $58,468, 28% 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 Fort Smith metro area scores 25 for dry cleaners (lower middle), #250 of 272 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Smith metro area. It maps the dry cleaners 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 dry cleaners · All 56 business types in the Fort Smith metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith 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.