Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Indiana

Laundromats in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area

The laundromats in the Fort Wayne, IN 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 #59 of 364 scored metro areas
#3 of 11 scored metro areas based in Indiana

Listings
23
6 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$347.3M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,907 a household
Spending per listing
$15.1M
21% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.3
19% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
466,258
+3.9% since 2020

See the laundromats around any address in the Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne 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

At $1,907 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Wayne metro area spend about $347.3M a year on clothing, shoes and related services. That is about $15.1M of household spending for each laundromat on map listings, 21% above the U.S. figure of $12.5M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only laundromats.

The Fort Wayne metro area has 23 laundromats on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 19% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 1.3, 19% below the U.S. rate of 1.6.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in the Fort Wayne metro area was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 30,358 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Fort Wayne metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For laundromats, the Fort Wayne metro area has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #59 of 364 scored metro areas and #3 of 11 scored metro areas based in Indiana. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Fort Wayne metro area compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 Fort Wayne, IN metro area compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureFort Wayne metro areaIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.31.31.6
Spending per listing$15.1M$14.9M$12.5M
Households per official establishment30,35815,34511,865
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−5.8%+3.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,907$1,935$2,055
Median household income$71,213$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score7152

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
19
Annual payroll, 2023
$298K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
236 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
28The 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 coin-operated laundries in the Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
466,258+3.9% since 2020
Households
182,145
Median age
37.6
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,361 sq. mi.
People per square mile
335
Median household income
$71,213
Average household income
$93,321
Median home value
$214,100
Jobs located here
229,223
Daytime population
467,926Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Laundromats across Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Indiana

Metro areas in Indiana ranked for laundromats by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN77841.0$20.9M+5.4%#27 of 364
2Evansville, IN73100.9$21.6M+1.6%#44 of 364
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN721011.1$18.6M+2.7%#52 of 364
3Fort Wayne, IN71231.3$15.1M+3.9%#59 of 364
4Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN7050.6$33.2M+2.1%#62 of 364
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN57671.2$15.8M+2.9%#128 of 364
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN446141.7$13.3M0.0%#212 of 364
5Michigan City-La Porte, IN4361.4$13.7M−0.9%#219 of 364
6Bloomington, IN41101.5$12.7M+2.0%#234 of 364
7South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI28231.8$10.6M+0.1%#311 of 364

Other business types in the Fort Wayne metro area

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

Questions

How many laundromats are in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 laundromats in the Fort Wayne metro area. 6 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count laundromats. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in 2023.

How much do households in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $347.3M a year, or $1,907 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 laundromats on map listings, it comes to $15.1M 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 182,145 households in the Fort Wayne metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Wayne, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for laundromats?

The Fort Wayne metro area has 1.3 laundromats per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 1.6. Spending per laundromat is $15.1M, 21% above the U.S. figure of $12.5M. At the U.S. ratio of laundromats to household spending, the Fort Wayne metro area would have about 28, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 30,358 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Wayne, IN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Wayne metro area at 466,258 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 182,145 households. Median household income in the Fort Wayne metro area is $71,213, 12% 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 Fort Wayne metro area scores 71 for laundromats (upper middle), #59 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 Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne 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.