Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · North Carolina

Dry cleaners in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area

The dry cleaners in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #143 of 272 scored metro areas
#6 of 13 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
11
3 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$255.7M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,710 a household
Spending per listing
$23.2M
48% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
0.7
46% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
376,890
+3.2% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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

Households in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area spend about $255.7M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $1,710 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That works out to $23.2M per shop, 48% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners.

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area has 11 dry cleaners on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 27%, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 0.7, 46% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 10,684 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.2%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for dry cleaners in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area is 51 (upper middle), #143 of 272 scored metro areas and #6 of 13 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.

How the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureHickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households0.71.21.3
Spending per listing$23.2M$16.2M$15.7M
Households per official establishment10,6849,3718,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−20.2%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,710$1,894$2,055
Median household income$62,787$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score5145

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14
Employees, 2023
471
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
113 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
376,890+3.2% since 2020
Households
149,578
Median age
43.2
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,640 sq. mi.
People per square mile
225
Median household income
$62,787+30.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,592
Median home value
$215,600
Jobs located here
158,748
Daytime population
362,333Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 dry cleaners in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area. 3 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023.

How much do households in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $255.7M a year, or $1,710 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $23.2M 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 149,578 households in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area has 0.7 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $23.2M, 48% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the U.S. ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area would have about 16, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 10,684 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

How fast is the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area at 376,890 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 149,578 households. Median household income in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area is $62,787, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.5%, 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area scores 51 for dry cleaners (upper middle), #143 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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.