By A typical U.S. laundromat can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual gross revenue, but revenue is not the same as owner profit. The Coin Laundry Association’s latest surfaced store-profile data reports median gross revenue of $335,000 per store and an average net profit margin of 25.5% for 2023. Actual earnings vary significantly by location, rent, utilities, equipment, pricing, and services.
The latest Coin Laundry Association (CLA) figures give a useful benchmark: the median gross revenue per laundromat was $335,000 in 2023, while the reported average net profit margin was 25.5%. These are industry survey figures, not a guaranteed result for a new store.
That puts the laundromat business in an interesting position. A store can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales without its owner personally keeping anything close to that amount.
Everyone Should Know
If you’re exploring ways to build and grow a small business, the numbers from the laundromat industry can also show what’s possible when a simple service business is managed around demand, location, costs, and customer needs.
How Much Does a Laundromat Make in USA?
The latest published CLA figures show a $335,000 median gross revenue per store for 2023. Revenue increased from $250,000 in 2022, and 65% of surveyed stores reported year-over-year revenue growth.
Here is what the numbers look like:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Median gross revenue per store | $335,000 |
| Year of revenue data | 2023 |
| Average net profit margin | 25.5% |
| Stores reporting revenue growth | 65% |
| U.S. coin laundries | About 29,500 |
The $335,000 figure should not be described as the average laundromat’s 2026 income. It is a 2023 median revenue figure reported in the 2024 CLA Store Profile and discussed by CLA in 2026.
There is also a much wider range across individual businesses. CLA says coin laundries can generate approximately $15,000 to $300,000 in annual cash flow, depending on the operation and market.
That range tells you something the headline revenue number doesn’t: two laundromats can have very different financial results even when they operate in the same industry.
What Is the Average Laundromat Owner Salary?
The CLA reported an average net profit margin of 25.5% for 2023, compared with 17.9% in 2022.
If you apply that 25.5% margin to the $335,000 median revenue figure, the arithmetic looks like this:
$335,000 × 25.5% = $85,425
So, $85,425 is an illustrative calculation, not a reported average owner profit. The two CLA figures describe different statistical measures, so they should not be presented as though CLA reported that the typical laundromat earned exactly $85,425.
Still, the calculation gives a useful way to understand the economics.
A laundromat generating $335,000 in annual sales has expenses before money becomes profit. CLA lists expenses such as rent, utilities, maintenance, payroll, insurance, advertising, accounting and other operating costs.
For a simple monthly view, $335,000 in annual revenue works out to roughly:
$27,917 per month in gross revenue.
That is sales coming through the business, not $27,917 going into the owner’s pocket.
Where Does Laundromat Revenue Come From?
Washers and dryers are the core of the business, but they aren’t necessarily the only source of revenue.
CLA’s industry overview identifies several possible income categories, including:
- Washing machines
- Dryers
- Vending
- Dry-cleaning-related services
- Wash-dry-fold services
Some stores also add newer services or technology as customer expectations change. CLA has highlighted the industry’s movement toward cashless payment systems and services such as wash-and-fold and pickup and delivery.
A store’s revenue therefore depends partly on what it offers beyond basic self-service machines.
For instance, a small laundromat with older machines and limited operating hours has a very different revenue model from a larger location with newer equipment, extended hours, vending and additional laundry services.
What Determines How Much a Laundromat Makes?
Location is one of the biggest variables.
CLA says laundromats tend to perform particularly well in densely populated areas with significant renter populations. Its industry overview also points to demographics, services, equipment, vend prices, operating hours, parking, building exposure and competition as factors affecting individual store performance.
Consider two hypothetical stores:
Store A
- Large renter population nearby
- Limited in-home laundry
- Good parking
- Modern machines
- Strong visibility
- Several competing laundromats nearby
Store B
- Lower population density
- Most homes have their own washers and dryers
- Older machines
- Poor visibility
- Few nearby apartment buildings
Both stores could charge similar prices, but their customer volume could be dramatically different.
How Much Does a Laundromat Make Per Month?
Using the CLA’s $335,000 median annual gross revenue figure as a simple example gives approximately $27,917 in monthly gross revenue.
That calculation is:
$335,000 ÷ 12 = $27,916.67
Monthly revenue will naturally fluctuate. A laundromat doesn’t necessarily produce exactly the same amount every month, and individual stores can sit well above or below the national benchmark.
The more useful question for someone considering buying a laundromat is what happens after that revenue arrives.
Rent, water, gas, electricity, repairs and maintenance can have a major effect on the final financial result. CLA specifically lists utilities, rent, maintenance, payroll, insurance and other operating expenses among the typical cost categories.
Is a Laundromat a High-Profit Business?
Laundromats can generate substantial cash flow, but the business is not automatically highly profitable simply because customers pay for every wash and dry cycle.
CLA describes coin laundries as businesses that generally operate from leased retail locations and notes that they have no inventory or receivables in the traditional retail sense.
That structure can make the business different from restaurants, clothing stores or other retail operations.
The equipment, however, matters enormously.
Washers and dryers eventually require repairs or replacement. Utilities can represent a major operating expense, and rent can determine whether a busy store remains financially attractive.
CLA also notes that equipment has useful operating lives that vary by type and usage.
A laundromat producing strong sales today may therefore require significant capital spending later.
How Much Money Do Laundromat Owners Actually Take Home?
There isn’t one national number that tells you what every laundromat owner personally takes home.
Owner income can be affected by:
- Business operating expenses
- Equipment financing
- Property rent or ownership
- Taxes
- Debt payments
- Whether the owner works in the store
- Employee costs
- Equipment replacement
- Additional services
- Local competition
CLA says individual coin laundries can produce roughly $15,000 to $300,000 in annual cash flow, illustrating how wide the range can be between different operations.
Someone who owns the building and operates a strong store with little debt can have a very different financial outcome from an owner leasing an expensive location while making equipment payments.
So if you’re looking at a laundromat for sale, don’t stop at the seller’s annual revenue figure. The operating expenses and financial records matter much more for understanding what the business actually produces.
Is a Laundromat Still a Good Business in 2026?
The available industry data shows that laundromats remain a significant U.S. small-business category. CLA currently estimates about 29,500 coin laundries in the United States, generating nearly $5 billion in gross revenue annually.
The business also continues to evolve.
Cashless payments have become more common, while services such as wash-dry-fold and pickup and delivery give some operators additional ways to generate revenue.
But the basic economics haven’t changed: customers need clean clothes, and a store needs enough local demand to cover its fixed and variable costs.
For anyone considering entering the industry, the most useful research is therefore local rather than national. Look at renter concentration, apartment density, competing laundromats, machine capacity, local pricing, rent and utility costs before assuming that a national revenue benchmark will apply to one particular store.
Final Numbers: Laundromat Average Income
A reasonable starting benchmark from the latest CLA data is $335,000 in median annual gross revenue per store, based on 2023 results. The same reporting shows a 25.5% average net profit margin for 2023.
Using those numbers purely as an illustration, $335,000 of annual revenue is about $27,917 per month, while applying a 25.5% margin mathematically produces about $85,425.
That $85,425 should not be treated as the expected income of a laundromat owner. Actual results can vary considerably.
For someone evaluating a real laundromat, the numbers worth checking are the store’s actual revenue, utility bills, rent, payroll, maintenance, equipment condition, debt and historical profit.
The national benchmark tells you what the industry can look like. The store’s own financial records tell you what that particular laundromat is actually making.
FAQ – How much does a laundromat make in USA
How much does a laundromat make in the USA?
The latest Coin Laundry Association data reports $335,000 in median gross revenue per store for 2023. Actual revenue varies based on location, customer demand, equipment, pricing, competition and additional services.
How much profit does a laundromat make?
The Coin Laundry Association reported an average net profit margin of 25.5% for 2023. Applying that percentage to the $335,000 median revenue figure gives an illustrative $85,425, but this is a calculation rather than a reported typical owner profit.
How much does a laundromat make per month?
A laundromat generating $335,000 in annual revenue would average approximately $27,917 in gross monthly revenue. Individual stores can be substantially above or below that amount.
Is owning a laundromat profitable?
A laundromat can generate significant revenue and cash flow, but profitability depends on expenses such as rent, utilities, maintenance, payroll, equipment financing and taxes. Location and local customer demand can also have a major effect on the results.
Is a laundromat a good small business to start?
A laundromat can be one option for someone interested in a service-based small business. The opportunity depends heavily on the local market, startup costs, competition and whether the expected revenue can support the property’s rent, utilities, equipment and other operating expenses.
