Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Tennessee

Dry cleaners in the Knoxville, TN metro area

The dry cleaners in the Knoxville, TN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 76 out of 100: High

Ranked #16 of 272 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Tennessee

Listings
27
14 chain locations (52%)
Official establishments
21
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$704.5M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,863 a household
Spending per listing
$26.1M
67% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
0.7
46% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
968,137
+6.9% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville metro area scores 76 (high) on the Groundwork market score for dry cleaners, ranking #16 of 272 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Tennessee. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for dry cleaners.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Knoxville metro area comes to about $704.5M a year: $1,863 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That is about $26.1M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 67% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners.

The Knoxville metro area has 27 dry cleaners on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 52% of them, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 0.7, 46% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 21 businesses with payroll in the Knoxville metro area classed as dry cleaning and laundry services. That is one for every 18,011 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Knoxville metro area grew 6.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Knoxville metro area compares

The same measures for Tennessee 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 Knoxville, TN metro area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureKnoxville metro areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households0.70.91.3
Spending per listing$26.1M$20.8M$15.7M
Households per official establishment18,01112,5528,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−22.9%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.9%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,863$1,842$2,055
Median household income$72,422$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score7658

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
21
Employees, 2023
151
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
2714 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
45The 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
968,137+6.9% since 2020
Households
378,234
Median age
41.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
3,501 sq. mi.
People per square mile
266
Median household income
$72,422
Average household income
$98,653
Median home value
$290,200
Jobs located here
432,193
Daytime population
955,487Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Dry cleaners across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Tennessee for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Knoxville metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Knoxville, TN76270.7$26.1M+6.9%#16 of 272
2Johnson City, TN6560.7$24.9M+4.3%#46 of 272
3Chattanooga, TN-GA63231.0$18.8M+5.3%#69 of 272
4Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN62831.0$20.4M+8.7%#74 of 272
5Clarksville, TN-KY59131.0$16.8M+8.5%#93 of 272
6Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA57100.8$22M+2.3%#101 of 272
7Jackson, TN4950.7$24.3M+2.2%#154 of 272
8Memphis, TN-MS-AR29651.2$14.7M−0.3%#237 of 272

Other business types in the Knoxville metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the Knoxville, TN metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 27 dry cleaners in the Knoxville metro area. 14 of them (52%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 21 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023.

How much do households in the Knoxville, TN metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $704.5M a year, or $1,863 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $26.1M 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 378,234 households in the Knoxville metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Knoxville, TN metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Knoxville metro area has 0.7 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $26.1M, 67% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the U.S. ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Knoxville metro area would have about 45, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 18,011 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

How fast is the Knoxville, TN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Knoxville metro area at 968,137 people in 2025, up 6.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 378,234 households. Median household income in the Knoxville metro area is $72,422, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Knoxville metro area scores 76 for dry cleaners (high), #16 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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.