Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Iowa
Dry cleaners in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for dry cleaners: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.
- Listings
- 3
- 2 chain locations (67%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $131.6M
- On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,896 a household
- Spending per listing
- $43.9M
- 2.8 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 0.4
- 69% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 169,189
- +0.5% since 2020
See the dry cleaners around any address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 3 dry cleaners in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. That is 0.4 per 10,000 households, 69% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.
Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area comes to about $131.6M a year: $1,896 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 3 dry cleaners, that is $43.9M per shop, 2.8 times the U.S. figure of $15.7M. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which dry cleaners share with other businesses in the trade.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Population estimates show the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area grew 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 3 dry cleaners on map listings, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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.
| Measure | Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.3 |
| Spending per listing | $43.9M | $31.2M | $15.7M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 22,685 | 8,177 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −15.9% | −18.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services | $1,896 | $1,967 | $2,055 |
| Median household income | $70,811 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 69 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 32 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8The 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 169,189+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 69,396
- Median age
- 37.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,503 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 112
- Median household income
- $70,811+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,709
- Median home value
- $194,800
- Jobs located here
- 88,619
- Daytime population
- 179,403Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardDry cleaners across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 72 | 34 | 1.2 | $18.5M | +6.7% | #25 of 272 |
| 2Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 61 | 11 | 0.7 | $28.6M | −0.9% | #77 of 272 |
| 3Ames, IA | 54 | 5 | 1.0 | $19.6M | +2.2% | #122 of 272 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 53 | 57 | 1.5 | $14.5M | +4.2% | #134 of 272 |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | Not scored | 3 | 0.4 | $43.9M | +0.5% |
Other business types in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
- Clothing, shoes and laundry52
- Clothing and shoe stores47
- Laundromats34
- Dry cleaners
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many dry cleaners are in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 3 dry cleaners on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count dry cleaners. No official count is published for dry cleaning and laundry services in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $131.6M a year, or $1,896 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $43.9M per shop. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners. It is estimated from the incomes of the 69,396 households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 0.4 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 69% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $43.9M, 2.8 times the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the national ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area would have about 8, against 3 on map listings.
How fast is the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area at 169,189 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,396 households. The median household income in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is $70,811 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has no market score for dry cleaners: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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.