Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Illinois

Laundromats in the Rockford, IL metro area

How the Rockford, IL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for laundromats: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #301 of 364 scored metro areas
#6 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois

Listings
22
1 chain location (5%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$255.7M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,888 a household
Spending per listing
$11.6M
7% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.6
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
337,242
−0.3% since 2020

See the laundromats around any address in the Rockford 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 Rockford 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 Rockford metro area scores 30 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for laundromats, ranking #301 of 364 scored metro areas and #6 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 22 laundromats in the Rockford metro area. One of them (5%) is a chain location, against 19% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 1.6, in line with the U.S. rate of 1.6.

Households in the Rockford metro area spend about $255.7M a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $1,888 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That is about $11.6M of household spending for each laundromat on map listings, 7% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which laundromats share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in the Rockford metro area classed as coin-operated laundries. That is one for every 10,421 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $274K has gone to businesses classed as coin-operated laundries in the Rockford metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Rockford metro area declined 0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Rockford metro area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Rockford, IL metro area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureRockford metro areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.61.71.6
Spending per listing$11.6M$12.8M$12.5M
Households per official establishment10,42110,62511,865
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.3%+3.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,888$2,141$2,055
Median household income$68,033$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3032

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13
Employees, 2023
55
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
221 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
20The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$274K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as coin-operated laundries in the Rockford 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 Rockford metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
337,242−0.3% since 2020
Households
135,474
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
794 sq. mi.
People per square mile
424
Median household income
$68,033+21.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,321
Median home value
$171,300
Jobs located here
135,218
Daytime population
319,715Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Rockford 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.

Or open the report at the center of the Rockford metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Laundromats across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois ranked for laundromats by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Bloomington, IL7260.9$24.1M+0.1%#48 of 364
2Champaign-Urbana, IL65131.3$14.4M+1.5%#92 of 364
3Peoria, IL63181.2$16.8M−1.3%#101 of 364
St. Louis, MO-IL561581.4$15.3M−0.2%#141 of 364
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL54231.4$13.7M−0.9%#157 of 364
4Springfield, IL5391.0$20M−1.2%#159 of 364
5Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN446141.7$13.3M0.0%#212 of 364
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL3861.6$11.7M+1.7%#252 of 364
6Rockford, IL30221.6$11.6M−0.3%#301 of 364
7Kankakee, IL2392.2$8.9M−1.7%#334 of 364

Other business types in the Rockford metro area

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

Questions

How many laundromats are in the Rockford, IL metro area?

The Rockford metro area has 22 laundromats on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (5%) is a chain location. The listings count laundromats. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in 2023.

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

About $255.7M a year, or $1,888 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 laundromats on map listings, it comes to $11.6M per laundromat. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only laundromats. It is estimated from the incomes of the 135,474 households in the Rockford metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Rockford, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for laundromats?

The Rockford metro area has 1.6 laundromats per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 1.6. Spending per laundromat is $11.6M, 7% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. At the national ratio of laundromats to household spending, the Rockford metro area would have about 20, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 10,421 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S.

How fast is the Rockford, IL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Rockford metro area at 337,242 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 135,474 households. The median household income in the Rockford metro area is $68,033 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.4% 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 Rockford metro area scores 30 for laundromats (lower middle), #301 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 Rockford 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 Rockford metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rockford 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 Rockford 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.