Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Dry cleaners in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area

The dry cleaners in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 74 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #22 of 272 scored metro areas
#3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
26
12 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
17
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$557.8M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,267 a household
Spending per listing
$21.5M
37% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.1
15% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
617,427
+4.2% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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

The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area scores 74 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for dry cleaners, ranking #22 of 272 scored metro areas and #3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for dry cleaners.

Households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area spend about $557.8M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $2,267 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. That works out to $21.5M per shop, 37% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners.

The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area has 26 dry cleaners on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 46% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 1.1 per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.

Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area in 2023. That is one for every 14,476 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $2M has gone to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureHarrisburg-Carlisle metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.11.11.3
Spending per listing$21.5M$20.7M$15.7M
Households per official establishment14,47610,0868,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−19.8%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.2%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,267$2,270$2,055
Median household income$80,919$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score7450

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
17
Employees, 2023
81
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
2612 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
36The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
617,427+4.2% since 2020
Households
246,084
Median age
40.7
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,622 sq. mi.
People per square mile
373
Median household income
$80,919+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,040
Median home value
$253,100
Jobs located here
349,053
Daytime population
676,005Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 26 dry cleaners in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area. 12 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023.

How much do households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $557.8M a year, or $2,267 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $21.5M 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 246,084 households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area has 1.1 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $21.5M, 37% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the U.S. ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area would have about 36, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 14,476 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

How fast is the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area at 617,427 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 246,084 households. Median household income in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area is $80,919, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.7%, 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area scores 74 for dry cleaners (upper middle), #22 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.