2.7.2.1Vertical

Dry Cleaning Chains & Franchises

Multi-location dry cleaning franchise and chain operators.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Dry Cleaning & Laundry Services (2.7.2), the segment that Dry Cleaning Chains & Franchises sits within. They are not figures for Dry Cleaning Chains & Franchises on its own.

Market size
~$13B
Growth
~2%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~23,898 firms
Firms by employee count

95.4% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 22,806 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe1,092 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
96288%
100–499
928%
500+
383%

The consumer laundry business covers dry cleaners, wash-and-fold, and laundromats. It is small and structurally soft: dry cleaning has shrunk with casual dress, and laundromats are the only resilient piece. This excludes B2B industrial and linen/uniform laundry (Cintas, UniFirst), which is larger but a different, contract-driven business. Folding it in had tripled the segment and made a declining consumer market look like a growing one.

NAICS 812310, 812320. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Per-order dry-cleaning fees plus coin-op and wash-and-fold revenue

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$527,661
Revenue per employee
$92,233
Employees per firm
5.6
Recurring revenue
Low

transactional, though laundromats see repeat local traffic

EBITDA margin
8–18%
Capex intensity
Moderate

Characteristics

  • Balanced cost base: payroll is 27% of revenue, leaving room to scale margin without cutting staff
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 38 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Consumer dry cleaning in secular decline from casualization.
  • Laundromats are the resilient piece; dry cleaning keeps shrinking.
  • Fragmented, owner-operated, with little consolidation.

NAICS 812310, 812320. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaNew JerseyConnecticutNew YorkRhode Island

Dry cleaning and laundry cluster hard in the dense Northeast metros, where apartment density, professional dress, and a lack of in-unit laundry sustain demand that has thinned elsewhere. New York runs two-and-a-half times its expected share of firms, with New Jersey close behind, plus Rhode Island and Connecticut.

New YorkNew JerseyRhode IslandConnecticut

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 812310/812320. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityEmerging

Who’s acquiring

  • Laundromat & wash-and-fold operators
  • Route-based service operators
  • Regional acquirers

What’s driving deals

  • Limited consolidation in a fragmented consumer market.
  • Consumer dry cleaning mature to declining.
  • Laundromat density in renter-heavy metros.

Find Dry Cleaning Chains & Franchises acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Dry Cleaning Chains & Franchises (2.7.2.1) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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