Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · California

Dry cleaners in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for dry cleaners in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #233 of 272 scored metro areas
#17 of 20 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
322
48 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
299
−24.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$4.3B
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,454 a household
Spending per listing
$13.3M
15% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.8
38% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,630,041
−2.4% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area scores 30 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for dry cleaners, ranking #233 of 272 scored metro areas and #17 of 20 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

At $2,454 per household (19% above the U.S. average), households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area spend about $4.3B a year on clothing, shoes and related services. Spread across 322 dry cleaners, that is $13.3M per shop, 15% below the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners.

There are 322 dry cleaners on map listings in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 1.8 per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 1.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 299 businesses with payroll in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area classed as dry cleaning and laundry services, down 24.1% from 2019. That is one for every 5,833 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $3.8M have gone to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. Population estimates show the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area declined 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area compares

The same measures for California 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.81.61.3
Spending per listing$13.3M$12.8M$15.7M
Households per official establishment5,8336,7308,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−24.1%−18.4%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,454$2,085$2,055
Median household income$136,027$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score3024

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
299−24.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,830
Annual payroll, 2023
$63.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
32248 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
273The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
9
Amount
$3.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
4,630,041−2.4% since 2020
Households
1,744,070
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
2,470 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,881
Median household income
$136,027+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$194,370
Median home value
$1,140,700
Jobs located here
2,497,939
Daytime population
4,885,603Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Dry cleaners across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in California, with the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA70190.8$25.1M+5.5%#30 of 272
2Fresno, CA60230.6$28.4M+3.2%#85 of 272
3Visalia, CA55100.7$24.3M+2.4%#114 of 272
4San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA52111.0$20.1M0.0%#138 of 272
5Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA51191.0$21.4M−0.4%#144 of 272
6Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA51931.1$19.2M+3.2%#145 of 272
7Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA49101.0$21.5M−4.7%#155 of 272
8Chico, CA4850.6$28.8M−0.5%#157 of 272
9Vallejo, CA47151.0$21.5M+0.6%#160 of 272
10Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA451721.2$16.1M+3.5%#166 of 272
17San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA303221.8$13.3M−2.4%#233 of 272

Other business types in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 322 dry cleaners in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. 48 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 299 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023, down 24.1% from 2019.

How much do households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $4.3B a year, or $2,454 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 322 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $13.3M 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 1,744,070 households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 1.8 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $13.3M, 15% below the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the U.S. ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area would have about 273, against 322 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,833 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. The official count fell 24.1% from 2019 to 2023, against −18.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area at 4,630,041 people in 2025, down 2.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,744,070 households. Median household income in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is $136,027, 68% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area scores 30 for dry cleaners (lower middle), #233 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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.