Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Indiana

Dry cleaners in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for dry cleaners in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #90 of 272 scored metro areas
#3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Indiana

Listings
18
10 chain locations (56%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$347.3M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,907 a household
Spending per listing
$19.3M
23% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.0
23% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
466,258
+3.9% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Fort Wayne 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 Wayne 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

At $1,907 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Wayne metro area spend about $347.3M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. That is about $19.3M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 23% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners.

There are 18 dry cleaners on map listings in the Fort Wayne metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 56% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 1.0 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.

Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Fort Wayne metro area in 2023. That is one for every 14,011 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the Fort Wayne metro area grew 3.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Fort Wayne metro area scores 60 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for dry cleaners, ranking #90 of 272 scored metro areas and #3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Indiana.

How the Fort Wayne metro area compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 Wayne, IN metro area compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureFort Wayne metro areaIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.00.91.3
Spending per listing$19.3M$22.1M$15.7M
Households per official establishment14,01114,1468,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−16.9%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,907$1,935$2,055
Median household income$71,213$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score6061

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13
Employees, 2023
108
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1810 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The 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 Wayne 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 Wayne metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
466,258+3.9% since 2020
Households
182,145
Median age
37.6
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,361 sq. mi.
People per square mile
335
Median household income
$71,213
Average household income
$93,321
Median home value
$214,100
Jobs located here
229,223
Daytime population
467,926Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fort Wayne 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 Wayne metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Dry cleaners across Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Indiana

Metro areas in Indiana ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Elkhart-Goshen, IN6350.7$27.1M+0.9%#63 of 272
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN62490.9$21.7M+2.9%#72 of 272
2Evansville, IN60100.9$21.6M+1.6%#88 of 272
3Fort Wayne, IN60181.0$19.3M+3.9%#90 of 272
4South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI58100.8$24.3M+0.1%#94 of 272
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN551021.1$18.4M+2.7%#117 of 272
5Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN521161.4$15.1M+5.4%#142 of 272
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN326321.7$12.9M0.0%#225 of 272
6Muncie, IN3151.1$15.7M+1.2%#229 of 272

Other business types in the Fort Wayne 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 Wayne, IN metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 18 dry cleaners in the Fort Wayne metro area. 10 of them (56%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023.

How much do households in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $347.3M a year, or $1,907 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $19.3M 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 182,145 households in the Fort Wayne metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Wayne, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Fort Wayne metro area has 1.0 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $19.3M, 23% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the U.S. ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Fort Wayne metro area would have about 22, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 14,011 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Wayne, IN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Wayne metro area at 466,258 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 182,145 households. Median household income in the Fort Wayne metro area is $71,213, 12% 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 Wayne metro area scores 60 for dry cleaners (upper middle), #90 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 Wayne 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 Wayne metro area

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