Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · County · North Carolina

Dry cleaners in Wayne County, NC

How Wayne County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for dry cleaners: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #372 of 507 scored counties
#17 of 24 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
7
1 chain location (14%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$79.9M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,682 a household
Spending per listing
$11.4M
27% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.5
15% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
122,278
+3.8% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in Wayne County

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 Wayne County. 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 7 dry cleaners in Wayne County. One of them (14%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 1.5, 15% above the U.S. rate of 1.3.

At $1,682 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in Wayne County spend about $79.9M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. Spread across 7 dry cleaners, that is $11.4M per shop, 27% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Wayne County classed as dry cleaning and laundry services. That is one for every 11,877 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Wayne County grew 3.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for dry cleaners in Wayne County is 38 (lower middle), #372 of 507 scored counties and #17 of 24 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Wayne County 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 Wayne County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureWayne CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.51.21.3
Spending per listing$11.4M$16.2M$15.7M
Households per official establishment11,8779,3718,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−20.2%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.8%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,682$1,894$2,055
Median household income$59,733$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score3845

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 4
Employees, 2023
46
Annual payroll, 2023
$741K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
71 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
5The 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 Wayne County, 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 Wayne County

Population, 2025 estimate
122,278+3.8% since 2020
Households
47,507
Median age
38.3
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
554 sq. mi.
People per square mile
214
Median household income
$59,733+34.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,980
Median home value
$178,700
Jobs located here
40,987
Daytime population
111,023Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Wayne County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Wayne County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Dry cleaners across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Wayne County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Brunswick County, NC8050.7$25.9M+26.5%#16 of 507
2Buncombe County, NC6970.7$27.9M+2.9%#74 of 507
3Iredell County, NC6970.9$21.7M+12.9%#76 of 507
4Cabarrus County, NC64101.2$17.6M+9.9%#123 of 507
5Pitt County, NC6250.7$25.3M+5.4%#135 of 507
6New Hanover County, NC6080.8$25.5M+8.6%#158 of 507
7Union County, NC60111.3$17.3M+11.7%#169 of 507
8Gaston County, NC58121.3$14M+7.8%#184 of 507
9Durham County, NC57171.2$17.1M+7.7%#194 of 507
10Wake County, NC55801.7$13.3M+11.2%#220 of 507
17Wayne County, NC3871.5$11.4M+3.8%#372 of 507

Other business types in Wayne County

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in Wayne County, NC?

Wayne County has 7 dry cleaners on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (14%) is a chain location. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023.

How much do households in Wayne County, NC spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $79.9M a year, or $1,682 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $11.4M per shop. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners. It is estimated from the incomes of the 47,507 households in Wayne County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Wayne County, NC compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

Wayne County has 1.5 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $11.4M, 27% below the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the national ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, Wayne County would have about 5, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 11,877 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

How fast is Wayne County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Wayne County at 122,278 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 47,507 households. The median household income in Wayne County is $59,733 a year, 26% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.5% 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. Wayne County scores 38 for dry cleaners (lower middle), #372 of 507 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Wayne County. 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 Wayne County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Wayne County?

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 Wayne County. 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.