Clothing and laundry · Small-town market · Minnesota
Laundromats in the Albert Lea, MN area
How the Albert Lea, MN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for laundromats: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #130 of 150 scored small-town markets
#6 of 6 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 5
- 1 chain location (20%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $24.1M
- On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,875 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.8M
- 61% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.9
- 2.4 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 30,440
- −1.5% since 2020
See the laundromats around any address in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area scores 29 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for laundromats, ranking #130 of 150 scored small-town markets and #6 of 6 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Albert Lea area comes to about $24.1M a year: $1,875 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 5 laundromats, that is $4.8M per laundromat, 61% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only laundromats.
The Albert Lea area has 5 laundromats on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 19% across the U.S. That is 3.9 per 10,000 households, 2.4 times the U.S. rate of 1.6.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for coin-operated laundries in the Albert Lea area, since they leave out counts under 3. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Albert Lea area declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Albert Lea area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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 | Albert Lea area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.9 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Spending per listing | $4.8M | $16M | $12.5M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 23,793 | 11,865 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.0% | +3.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services | $1,875 | $2,183 | $2,055 |
| Median household income | $71,023 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 73 |
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
- 51 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2The 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 Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 30,440−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 12,846
- Median age
- 45.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 707 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $71,023+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,926
- Median home value
- $171,100
- Jobs located here
- 11,051
- Daytime population
- 27,708Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Albert Lea area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Albert Lea area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardLaundromats across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for laundromats, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with the Albert Lea area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brainerd, MN | 76 | 10 | 2.4 | $8.1M | +4.3% | #15 of 150 |
| 2Fergus Falls, MN | 72 | 5 | 2.0 | $9.7M | +1.6% | #25 of 150 |
| 3Red Wing, MN | 50 | 7 | 3.5 | $5.7M | +1.3% | #73 of 150 |
| 4Grand Rapids, MN | 44 | 6 | 3.2 | $5.8M | +0.9% | #90 of 150 |
| 5Bemidji, MN | 40 | 7 | 3.9 | $4.9M | +1.8% | #97 of 150 |
| 6Albert Lea, MN | 29 | 5 | 3.9 | $4.8M | −1.5% | #130 of 150 |
Other business types in the Albert Lea 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 laundry47
- Clothing and shoe stores47
- Laundromats29
- Dry cleaners
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many laundromats are in the Albert Lea, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 laundromats in the Albert Lea area. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count laundromats. No official count is published for coin-operated laundries in the Albert Lea area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Albert Lea, MN area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $24.1M a year, or $1,875 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 laundromats on map listings, it comes to $4.8M 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 12,846 households in the Albert Lea area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Albert Lea, MN area compare with the U.S. for laundromats?
The Albert Lea area has 3.9 laundromats per 10,000 households, 2.4 times the U.S. rate of 1.6. Spending per laundromat is $4.8M, 61% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. At the U.S. ratio of laundromats to household spending, the Albert Lea area would have about 2, against 5 on map listings.
How fast is the Albert Lea, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Albert Lea area at 30,440 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,846 households. Median household income in the Albert Lea area is $71,023, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.4%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Albert Lea area scores 29 for laundromats (lower middle), #130 of 150 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea 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.