Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · California

Laundromats in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for laundromats in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #260 of 364 scored metro areas
#11 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
372
53 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
161
−6.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$4.3B
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,454 a household
Spending per listing
$11.5M
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.1
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,630,041
−2.4% since 2020

See the laundromats around any address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

The site report maps the laundromats 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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

Households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area spend about $4.3B a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $2,454 per household, 19% above the U.S. average. That is about $11.5M of household spending for each laundromat on map listings, 8% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only laundromats.

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 372 laundromats on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 19% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.1, 31% above the U.S. rate of 1.6.

Official counts show 161 businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area in 2023, down 6.4% from 2019. That is one for every 10,833 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $7.6M have gone to businesses classed as coin-operated laundries in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area declined 2.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for laundromats in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is 37 (lower middle), #260 of 364 scored metro areas and #11 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area compares

The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the laundromats counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Laundromats in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.12.11.6
Spending per listing$11.5M$10.1M$12.5M
Households per official establishment10,83310,97011,865
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−6.4%+6.1%+3.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,454$2,085$2,055
Median household income$136,027$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score3725

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
161−6.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
761
Annual payroll, 2023
$26.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
37253 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
342The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
13
Amount
$7.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as coin-operated laundries in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
4,630,041−2.4% since 2020
Households
1,744,070
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
2,470 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,881
Median household income
$136,027+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$194,370
Median home value
$1,140,700
Jobs located here
2,497,939
Daytime population
4,885,603Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 laundromats on map listings by name and distance.

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Laundromats across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for laundromats, numbered among those based in California, with the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for laundromats by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA631871.3$14.8M+3.5%#102 of 364
2Stockton-Lodi, CA60331.3$14.5M+5.5%#114 of 364
3Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA571331.5$13.4M+3.2%#133 of 364
4Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA53321.7$12.7M−0.4%#164 of 364
5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA491281.9$14.1M−0.6%#183 of 364
6Bakersfield-Delano, CA44421.5$11.6M+2.3%#214 of 364
7Vallejo, CA42261.7$12.4M+0.6%#223 of 364
8San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA41232.1$9.6M0.0%#236 of 364
9Modesto, CA40261.5$12.4M+0.7%#240 of 364
10Fresno, CA38711.9$9.2M+3.2%#255 of 364
11San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA373722.1$11.5M−2.4%#260 of 364

Other business types in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

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

Questions

How many laundromats are in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 372 laundromats in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. 53 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count laundromats. Official counts show 161 businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in 2023, down 6.4% from 2019.

How much do households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $4.3B a year, or $2,454 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 372 laundromats on map listings, it comes to $11.5M per laundromat. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which laundromats share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,744,070 households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for laundromats?

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 2.1 laundromats per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 1.6. Spending per laundromat is $11.5M, 8% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. At the U.S. ratio of laundromats to household spending, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area would have about 342, against 372 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 10,833 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S. The official count fell 6.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +3.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area at 4,630,041 people in 2025, down 2.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,744,070 households. Median household income in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is $136,027, 68% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area scores 37 for laundromats (lower middle), #260 of 364 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. It maps the laundromats 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 laundromats · All 56 business types in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.