Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Iowa
Laundromats in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 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 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #276 of 364 scored metro areas
#6 of 7 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 12
- 5 chain locations (42%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $131.6M
- On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,896 a household
- Spending per listing
- $11M
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 1.7
- 6% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 169,189
- +0.5% since 2020
See the laundromats around any address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The Groundwork market score for laundromats in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is 34 (lower middle), #276 of 364 scored metro areas and #6 of 7 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 laundromats in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 42%, against 19% across the U.S. That is 1.7 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 1.6.
Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area comes to about $131.6M a year: $1,896 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $11M per laundromat, 12% 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.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area: counts under 3 aren’t published. Population estimates put the population change in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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.
| Measure | Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Spending per listing | $11M | $11.9M | $12.5M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 28,602 | 11,865 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −11.5% | +3.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services | $1,896 | $1,967 | $2,055 |
| Median household income | $70,811 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 125 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 169,189+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 69,396
- Median age
- 37.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,503 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 112
- Median household income
- $70,811+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,709
- Median home value
- $194,800
- Jobs located here
- 88,619
- Daytime population
- 179,403Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardLaundromats across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for laundromats, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 77 | 42 | 1.1 | $19.7M | +4.2% | #29 of 364 |
| 1Iowa City, IA | 72 | 9 | 1.2 | $16.4M | +4.1% | #53 of 364 |
| 2Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 71 | 47 | 1.6 | $13.4M | +6.7% | #61 of 364 |
| 3Cedar Rapids, IA | 59 | 19 | 1.7 | $12.1M | +1.0% | #119 of 364 |
| 4Ames, IA | 56 | 7 | 1.4 | $14M | +2.2% | #144 of 364 |
| 5Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 54 | 23 | 1.4 | $13.7M | −0.9% | #157 of 364 |
| 6Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 34 | 12 | 1.7 | $11M | +0.5% | #276 of 364 |
| 7Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 34 | 19 | 3.4 | $5.6M | +1.0% | #280 of 364 |
Other business types in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
- Clothing, shoes and laundry52
- Clothing and shoe stores47
- Laundromats34
- Dry cleaners
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many laundromats are in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area?
There are 12 laundromats on map listings in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area as of September 2026. 5 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count laundromats. No official count is published for coin-operated laundries in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $131.6M a year, or $1,896 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 laundromats on map listings, it comes to $11M per laundromat. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only laundromats. It is estimated from the incomes of the 69,396 households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for laundromats?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 1.7 laundromats per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 1.6. Spending per laundromat is $11M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. At the national ratio of laundromats to household spending, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area would have about 11, against 12 on map listings.
How fast is the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area at 169,189 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,396 households. The median household income in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is $70,811 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area scores 34 for laundromats (lower middle), #276 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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.