Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · North Carolina

Dry cleaners in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area

How the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for dry cleaners: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #179 of 272 scored metro areas
#8 of 13 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
181
43 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
144
−23.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.2B
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,046 a household
Spending per listing
$12.2M
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.7
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,938,830
+10.1% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 181 dry cleaners in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 1.7, 31% above the U.S. rate of 1.3.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area comes to about $2.2B a year: $2,046 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 181 dry cleaners, that is $12.2M per shop, 22% below 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.

Official counts show 144 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area in 2023, down 23.2% from 2019. That is one for every 7,474 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $9.5M have gone to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +10.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for dry cleaners in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area is 42 (lower middle), #179 of 272 scored metro areas and #8 of 13 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.

How the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.71.21.3
Spending per listing$12.2M$16.2M$15.7M
Households per official establishment7,4749,3718,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−23.2%−20.2%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.1%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,046$1,894$2,055
Median household income$83,304$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4245

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
144−23.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
754
Annual payroll, 2023
$22.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
18143 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
141The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$9.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,938,830+10.1% since 2020
Households
1,076,260
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
5,598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
495
Median household income
$83,304+31.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,495
Median home value
$356,400
Jobs located here
1,400,944
Daytime population
2,846,416Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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.

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Dry cleaners across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area marked.

Top metro areas in North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Asheville, NC75100.6$30.2M+3.6%#17 of 272
2Wilmington, NC69130.7$29.4M+15.9%#32 of 272
3Greenville, NC5750.7$25.3M+5.4%#100 of 272
4Raleigh-Cary, NC54861.5$14.9M+12.6%#129 of 272
5Durham-Chapel Hill, NC53361.5$14.4M+7.5%#135 of 272
6Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC51110.7$23.2M+3.2%#143 of 272
7Winston-Salem, NC50260.9$19.4M+5.3%#151 of 272
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC42821.2$17.2M+0.9%#177 of 272
8Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC421811.7$12.2M+10.1%#179 of 272
9Greensboro-High Point, NC39331.0$17.1M+4.1%#192 of 272

Other business types in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area?

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area has 181 dry cleaners on map listings as of September 2026. 43 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 144 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023, down 23.2% from 2019.

How much do households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $2.2B a year, or $2,046 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 181 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $12.2M per shop. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,076,260 households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area has 1.7 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $12.2M, 22% below the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the national ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area would have about 141, against 181 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,474 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. The official count fell 23.2% from 2019 to 2023, against −18.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area at 2,938,830 people in 2025, up 10.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,076,260 households. The median household income in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area is $83,304 a year, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.8% 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores 42 for dry cleaners (lower middle), #179 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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.