A laundromat’s profit margin is the share of gross revenue left after the running costs: utilities, rent, payroll, repairs, insurance and the rest. The best public benchmark is the CLA (formerly Coin Laundry Association) annual owner survey. This page goes deeper into the margin and cost questions from that survey than our main guide on how much laundromats make. It covers the full distribution, each expense line, how the figures changed between surveys, and why the margin is not the owner’s income. All figures are US data.
Quick answer
- Median operating margin: 27% of 2023 gross revenue (mean 26%), before taxes, debt service and owner pay. CLA 2024 survey, question 19.
- Spread: 36% of all respondents reported 30% or more; 11% reported under 10%, none or a loss; 1% a net loss.
- Cost lines (medians): utilities 20%, rent 18% for renters, payroll 20% for stores with staff.
- Trend: median margin 17% → 22% → 27% across the 2022, 2023 and 2024 surveys.
- Biggest swing factor: equipment age, through utilities (about 15% of revenue with all-new machines, 30–35% with old ones, per CLA).
- Not included: loan repayments and income tax. See how much laundromat owners make.
The full margin distribution
Question 19 of the survey asked what share of 2023 gross revenue was operating net profit, before taxes, debt service and owner compensation. Percentages are of all 377 respondents, so the 17% who skipped the question are shown.
| Operating net profit, % of revenue | All stores | Northeast | Midwest | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40% or more | 12% | 3% | 10% | 16% | 15% |
| 35–39% | 14% | 12% | 3% | 17% | 21% |
| 30–34% | 10% | 9% | 13% | 12% | 6% |
| 25–29% | 11% | 9% | 10% | 9% | 17% |
| 20–24% | 9% | 7% | 21% | 5% | 8% |
| 15–19% | 11% | 10% | 17% | 7% | 15% |
| 10–14% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 4% |
| Under 10%, none or net loss | 11% | 12% | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| No answer | 17% | 30% | 3% | 20% | 9% |
Source: CLA 2024 Laundry Industry Survey, question 19 (2023 data). “Under 10%” combines the 5–9%, under 5%, none and net-loss answers.
Two things stand out. First, the middle is broad: roughly as many stores earn 15–29% as earn 30% or more. A store at 18% is not failing; it is ordinary. Second, the regions differ. In the South and West, about 45% and 42% of respondents reported 30% or more. In the Northeast and Midwest it was about a quarter, though 30% of Northeast respondents did not answer.
Each expense line as a share of revenue
The survey asks about three cost lines directly. Each has its own spread, and the medians are not meant to be added up, because the rent figure covers only renters and the payroll figure covers only stores with payroll.
| Cost line (survey question) | Median | Mean | Low end | High end | Who it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities: water, sewer, gas, electric (Q18) | 20% | 21% | 22% report under 15% | 10% report 30% or more | All stores |
| Rent incl. triple-net charges (Q8a) | 18% | 24% | 11% report under 10% | 11% report 30% or more | The 56% that rent |
| Payroll, excl. owner (Q10) | 20% | 22% | 7% report 1–9%; 7% none | 26% report 30% or more | Stores with payroll |
| Operating net profit (Q19) | 27% | 26% | 11% under 10% or a loss | 36% report 30% or more | All stores |
Source: CLA 2024 Laundry Industry Survey, questions 8a, 10, 18 and 19. CLA notes that a few very high rent answers pull the rent mean above the median, and recommends the median.
What’s left over covers repairs and parts, insurance, card processing, cleaning, marketing and supplies. For a store that leases and has staff, the medians leave about 15% for those lines. The survey doesn’t measure them separately, but owners’ answers to question 3 show where they hurt: high utility costs (53%), finding and keeping reliable staff (42%), labour cost (37%), insurance (37%), machine maintenance (34%) and vandalism (28%). Rent came lower, at 22%.
Rent in dollars. Median rent was $4,000 a month including triple-net charges (mean $5,130), or $2.00 per sq ft per month. Forty-four percent of respondents own the building. They have no rent line, but they carry property tax, insurance and upkeep, plus capital tied up in the property.
Payroll in hours. Half of the stores (49%) are attended for every opening hour, 42% for some hours and 10% for none (question 12). The median store is open 16 hours a day (question 11). Attended all day, seven days a week, that is about 112 attendant-hours a week at a median wage of $15.57 (question 13). That works out to about $90,700 a year in wages alone, before payroll taxes. That is why fully attended stores sit at the high end of the payroll range.
How margins changed between the 2022 and 2024 surveys
| Measure | 2022 survey (2021 data) | 2023 survey (2022 data) | 2024 survey (2023 data) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median operating margin (Q19) | 17% | 22% | 27% |
| Median utilities, % of revenue (Q18) | 25% | 20% | 20% |
| Median gross revenue (Q16) | $202,000 | $250,000 | $335,000 |
| Median rent per month (Q8a) | $3,690 | $3,700 | $4,000 |
| Median attendant wage (Q13) | $13.38 | $13.98 | $15.57 |
Source: the trend columns printed in the CLA 2024 Laundry Industry Survey. Each survey is a different sample of owners.
The pattern is simple. Revenue grew much faster than rent, and utilities fell back from 25% to 20% of revenue, so margins widened even as wages rose. In 2023, 65% of stores reported higher revenue than in 2022, with a median increase of 10%, and 53% expected to raise both washer and dryer prices in the next 12 months (questions 17 and 24).
Two cautions. The samples change each year; 2024 had 377 responses at a 6% response rate. And CLA changed its screening question in 2024 to include owners of wash-dry-fold and pickup-only sites. It says it can’t tell how that affected comparisons with earlier years. Treat the trend as a direction, not a precise rate.
What moves a store’s margin
Equipment age and utilities
CLA’s due-diligence white paper puts the industry average at about 25% of wash-and-dry revenue spent on utilities. It adds that “stores with all new machines may spend only 15 percent” while a store with old equipment “may come in at 30 to 35 percent”. On a $335,000 store, the gap between 15% and the 32.5% midpoint is about $58,600 a year, or 17.5 points of margin. That is most of the median store’s profit. It is why a store’s utility bills belong in any purchase review, and why the machines’ age matters more than their count.
Rent or ownership
At the median, a renter gives up 18% of revenue to rent. An owner-occupier doesn’t, but the capital in the building has a cost, and a mortgage shows up as debt service below the operating line. Across stores, rent ran from under 10% of revenue to 50% or more, so a lease alone can decide whether a store is a 15% or a 35% business.
Staffing model
Payroll ranges from none to more than 40% of revenue. Attended stores can sell wash & fold and keep the floor clean; unattended stores save the wage bill but give up that revenue. Owners who work the counter lower payroll, but they are paying themselves for labour out of the margin. The owner income page separates the two.
Revenue per square foot
Fixed costs such as rent spread over more revenue as a store gets busier. The survey’s median store made $120 per sq ft a year, and 30% made $150 or more. The revenue per machine page shows how turns and vend prices build up to that figure.
Operating margin vs owner cash after debt
The survey margin stops above the lines that decide what an owner keeps. Using the illustrative P&L in our main revenue and profit guide: a $335,000 store at 27% makes about $90,450 of operating profit. An assumed $300,000 equipment loan over seven years at 9% costs about $57,900 a year. That leaves about $32,550, or 10% of revenue, before income tax and owner pay. The equipment is the same and so is the operating margin, but the owner keeps a third as much until the loan is paid off. When someone quotes a laundromat’s profit margin, ask which line they mean.
Where these numbers are the wrong answer
- Outside the US. The survey covers US stores. Utility tariffs, rents and wages elsewhere change every line.
- A specific store for sale. A median is not a listing. Check that store’s own bills, lease and machine ages.
- Wash & fold-only or pickup-only businesses. They carry far more labour and no vend revenue, so their margins sit on a different scale.
- As a floor. The survey is self-reported, the response rate was 6%, and engaged operators are more likely to answer. Read the medians as a benchmark for a decent store.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average profit margin of a laundromat?
In the 2024 CLA Laundry Industry Survey, which covers 2023, the median operating net profit was 27% of gross revenue and the mean was 26%. That figure is before taxes, debt service and owner compensation. The median was 22% in the 2023 survey and 17% in the 2022 survey, so the industry figure moves from year to year.
How profitable are laundromats?
Most established US laundromats are profitable before debt. In the 2024 CLA survey, 36% of all respondents reported an operating margin of 30% or more, and only 1% reported a net loss. About 11% reported under 10%, no profit or a loss, and 17% did not answer. Loan repayments are not in that margin, so a heavily financed store can leave its owner much less.
What is the biggest expense for a laundromat?
Utilities, rent and payroll are each roughly a fifth of revenue at the median. The 2024 CLA survey reported medians of 20% for utilities, 18% for rent among stores that lease and 20% for payroll among stores with staff. Utilities are the cost owners worry about most: 53% named high utility costs as a top problem.
How does equipment age affect laundromat profit?
Through utilities. CLA’s due-diligence white paper says stores with all new machines may spend only about 15% of revenue on utilities, while stores with old equipment may spend 30 to 35%. On a $335,000 store, the gap between 15% and 32.5% is about $58,600 a year, or 17.5 points of margin.
Is a 27% laundromat margin what the owner takes home?
No. The CLA survey margin is measured before taxes, debt service and owner compensation. Equipment loans, a purchase loan or a mortgage come out of it, and so does income tax. A store with paid-off machines keeps most of it; a store carrying a large equipment loan can keep about a third of it until the loan is repaid.
References
- CLA, The Laundry Association, “2024 CLA Laundry Industry Survey Results”, questions 3, 8, 8a, 10–13, 16–19 and 24 (Readex Research, 377 responses, 2023 data; accessed 27 October 2026). https://member.laundryassociation.org/hubfs/IndustrySurvey24.pdf
- Coin Laundry Association, “Best Practices for Due Diligence in Laundromat Acquisitions”, white paper vol. 3 no. 7 (accessed 27 October 2026). https://laundryassociation.org/membership-files/white-papers/Best%20Practices%20for%20Due%20Diligence%20in%20Laundromat%20Acquisitions.pdf
- CLA, The Laundry Association, “Industry Overview” (accessed 27 October 2026). https://laundryassociation.org/for-investors/industry-overview/
Adding margin without adding machines
Wash & fold sells more from the same floor and machines, but only during counter hours. A laundry drop-off locker takes orders when the counter is closed. We are taking reservations for the first production run. Per-cell weight sensing is an optional extra fitted at the factory, and billing by weight needs a scale certified for trade use. Try your own figures in the ROI calculator, price a door mix with the instant estimate, or send us your numbers below.
Project brief · 60 seconds
What are we building together?
Three quick steps. Your brief goes straight to the engineers who design, build and support KioskForce systems.
