Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Virginia

Dry cleaners in the Charlottesville, VA metro area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #27 of 272 scored metro areas
#1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Virginia

Listings
7
2 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$196.2M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,169 a household
Spending per listing
$28M
79% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
0.8
38% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
228,597
+3.1% since 2020

See the dry cleaners around any address in the Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville 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

The Charlottesville metro area scores 71 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for dry cleaners, ranking #27 of 272 scored metro areas and #1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Virginia. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for dry cleaners.

At $2,169 per household (6% above the U.S. average), households in the Charlottesville metro area spend about $196.2M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. That is about $28M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 79% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only dry cleaners.

There are 7 dry cleaners on map listings in the Charlottesville metro area as of September 2026. 2 of them (29%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 0.8, 38% below the U.S. rate of 1.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Charlottesville metro area classed as dry cleaning and laundry services. That is one for every 11,307 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Charlottesville metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Charlottesville metro area compares

The same measures for Virginia 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 Charlottesville, VA metro area compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureCharlottesville metro areaVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households0.81.21.3
Spending per listing$28M$17.5M$15.7M
Households per official establishment11,3076,6528,177
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−21.5%−18.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.1%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,169$2,176$2,055
Median household income$93,598$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score7147

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
57
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
72 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
13The 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 Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
228,597+3.1% since 2020
Households
90,452
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,644 sq. mi.
People per square mile
136
Median household income
$93,598+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$130,972
Median home value
$430,300
Jobs located here
108,968
Daytime population
237,767Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville 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 Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for dry cleaners, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charlottesville metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Virginia

Metro areas in Virginia ranked for dry cleaners by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Charlottesville, VA7170.8$28M+3.1%#27 of 272
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA57100.8$22M+2.3%#101 of 272
2Roanoke, VA54131.0$18.4M+0.4%#123 of 272
3Winchester, VA-WV5271.3$16M+6.5%#140 of 272
4Richmond, VA47701.3$15.8M+5.5%#161 of 272
5Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC42821.2$17.2M+0.9%#177 of 272
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV404171.8$14.5M+3.3%#187 of 272

Other business types in the Charlottesville metro area

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

Questions

How many dry cleaners are in the Charlottesville, VA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 7 dry cleaners in the Charlottesville metro area. 2 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count dry cleaners. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as dry cleaning and laundry services in 2023.

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

About $196.2M a year, or $2,169 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 dry cleaners on map listings, it comes to $28M 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 90,452 households in the Charlottesville metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Charlottesville, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for dry cleaners?

The Charlottesville metro area has 0.8 dry cleaners per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 1.3. Spending per shop is $28M, 79% above the U.S. figure of $15.7M. At the U.S. ratio of dry cleaners to household spending, the Charlottesville metro area would have about 13, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 11,307 households, against one for every 8,177 across the U.S.

How fast is the Charlottesville, VA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Charlottesville metro area at 228,597 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,452 households. Median household income in the Charlottesville metro area is $93,598, 16% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.8%, 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 Charlottesville metro area scores 71 for dry cleaners (upper middle), #27 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 Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville 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.