Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Dry cleaners in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area

How the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 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 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #36 of 272 scored metro areas
#5 of 9 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
37
6 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
27
−29.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$793.5M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,336 a household
Spending per listing
$21.4M
37% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.1
15% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
887,615
+3.0% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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 37 dry cleaners in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 16%, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 1.1 for every 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.

At $2,336 per household (14% above the U.S. average), households in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area spend about $793.5M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. That is about $21.4M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 37% above 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area was 27 in 2023, down 29.7% from 2019. That is one for every 12,580 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $284K have gone to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for dry cleaners in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area is 69 (upper middle), #36 of 272 scored metro areas and #5 of 9 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureAllentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.11.11.3
Spending per listing$21.4M$20.7M$15.7M
Households per official establishment12,58010,0868,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−29.7%−19.8%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,336$2,270$2,055
Median household income$84,587$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score6950

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
27−29.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
81
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
376 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
51The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$284K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
887,615+3.0% since 2020
Households
339,656
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,453 sq. mi.
People per square mile
601
Median household income
$84,587+25.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$111,676
Median home value
$300,800
Jobs located here
385,046
Daytime population
840,185Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1York-Hanover, PA81170.9$24.3M+3.6%#10 of 272
2Lancaster, PA77190.9$26.1M+1.9%#15 of 272
3Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA74261.1$21.5M+4.2%#22 of 272
4Erie, PA6980.7$28M−1.8%#33 of 272
5Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ69371.1$21.4M+3.0%#36 of 272
6Reading, PA67130.8$28.1M+2.7%#40 of 272
7Pittsburgh, PA641000.9$23.7M−1.3%#57 of 272
8Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA56301.3$16M+1.4%#113 of 272
9Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD403931.6$15.4M+1.4%#184 of 272

Other business types in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area?

The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area has 37 dry cleaners on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023, down 29.7% from 2019.

How much do households in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $793.5M a year, or $2,336 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 37 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $21.4M per shop. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners. It is estimated from the incomes of the 339,656 households in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area has 1.1 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $21.4M, 37% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the national ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area would have about 51, against 37 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 12,580 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. The official count fell 29.7% from 2019 to 2023, against −18.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area at 887,615 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 339,656 households. The median household income in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area is $84,587 a year, 5% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.0% 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area scores 69 for dry cleaners (upper middle), #36 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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.