Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Wisconsin

Laundromats in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for laundromats in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #224 of 364 scored metro areas
#9 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin

Listings
115
22 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
48
+42.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.3B
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,056 a household
Spending per listing
$11.7M
6% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.8
13% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,575,010
0.0% since 2020

See the laundromats around any address in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha 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

Households in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area spend about $1.3B a year on clothing, shoes and related services, or $2,056 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $11.7M of household spending for each laundromat on map listings, 6% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only laundromats.

The Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area has 115 laundromats on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 19% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 1.8, 13% above the U.S. rate of 1.6.

Official counts show 48 businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area in 2023, up 42.4% from 2019. That is one for every 13,676 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $4M have gone to businesses classed as coin-operated laundries in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area.

Population estimates show the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for laundromats in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area is 42 (lower middle), #224 of 364 scored metro areas and #9 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin.

How the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureMilwaukee-Waukesha metro areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.81.81.6
Spending per listing$11.7M$11.3M$12.5M
Households per official establishment13,67618,09811,865
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+42.4%+15.1%+3.0%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,056$2,003$2,055
Median household income$78,218$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score4240

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
48+42.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
204
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
11522 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
108The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$4M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
1,575,0100.0% since 2020
Households
656,436
Median age
39.7
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,455 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,078
Median household income
$78,218+25.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,675
Median home value
$306,400
Jobs located here
863,760
Daytime population
1,652,441Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Wisconsin

Metro areas in Wisconsin ranked for laundromats by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI821621.1$21.2M+2.6%#13 of 364
1Appleton, WI80111.1$18.9M+2.7%#20 of 364
2Madison, WI77461.5$14.3M+4.1%#30 of 364
3Wausau, WI5781.4$14.2M+1.0%#132 of 364
4Green Bay, WI56171.2$16M+2.5%#140 of 364
5Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI55111.4$14.6M+0.4%#151 of 364
6Sheboygan, WI5461.2$16M0.0%#155 of 364
7La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN50121.7$11.7M+0.4%#181 of 364
8Eau Claire, WI44141.9$10M+2.6%#215 of 364
9Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI421151.8$11.7M0.0%#224 of 364

Other business types in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area

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

Questions

How many laundromats are in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 115 laundromats in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area. 22 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count laundromats. Official counts show 48 businesses with payroll classed as coin-operated laundries in 2023, up 42.4% from 2019.

How much do households in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $1.3B a year, or $2,056 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 115 laundromats on map listings, it comes to $11.7M 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 656,436 households in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for laundromats?

The Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area has 1.8 laundromats per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 1.6. Spending per laundromat is $11.7M, 6% below the U.S. figure of $12.5M. At the U.S. ratio of laundromats to household spending, the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area would have about 108, against 115 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 13,676 households, against one for every 11,865 across the U.S. The official count rose 42.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +3.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area at 1,575,010 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 656,436 households. Median household income in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area is $78,218, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.4%, 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. 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area scores 42 for laundromats (lower middle), #224 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha 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.