How much does it cost to start a laundromat?
Estimate the all-in cost to open a laundromat: commercial washers and dryers, the utility buildout that surprises everyone, lease, and working capital.
Typical range $271,150 – $414,700
- Washers & dryers$160,000
- Plumbing/gas/electrical buildout$75,000
- Water heating system$15,000
- Lease deposit + first months$15,000
- Card/coin payment system$18,000
- Signage, security & furniture$12,000
- Permits & licenses$3,000
- Working-capital buffer$21,000
- Total$319,000
§ 02 The return
Read the payback figure against the cell beside it. It assumes you are still trading. BLS follows every new establishment in this sector, and 41.7% of them are shut within five years. The payback number is not wrong, it is just answering a narrower question than it looks like: if you are still open, this is when the money comes back. It does not price the branch where you are not.
The default revenue here is the Census average for this industry, adjusted to 2025 dollars. The profit margin used to work out payback is Calcatrice's own estimate: public data does not publish net profit margin for staffed businesses, and the IRS figure above measures a sole proprietor's take-home, not a company's margin.
§ 03 Effort & commitment
Once built and stocked, the work is collection, cleaning, and repairs rather than full-time staffing.
Where the money goes
Does it pay back?
Cumulative cash flow. The line crosses zero the month your cumulative profit has repaid the startup cost.
By the numbers
- THE PAYBACK FIGURE ABOVE ASSUMES YOU ARE STILL TRADING, and until now this page never said so. It is computed from Economic Census receipts, and the Economic Census counts businesses that EXIST: the ones that opened and closed are not in the denominator. BLS Business Employment Dynamics follows every new establishment from the day it opens. Of those that opened in this sector (Other services (salons, laundries, car washes)) in 2019, 58.3% were still open five years later, so 41.7% were gone. That does not make the payback number wrong, it makes it narrower than it looks: IF you are still open, this is when the money comes back. It does not price the branch where you are not.
- THE "AVERAGE" FOR THIS INDUSTRY IS A MEAN, AND A MEAN IS NOT A TYPICAL BUSINESS. The Economic Census also publishes receipts by firm SIZE, and nobody here had ever pulled it. Firms with under five employees, which is the band you would actually be starting in, average $20,731 a month. The all-establishments mean is $46,470: it overstates the small operator by 2.24x. About 85% of establishments sit in size bands whose own average is below that mean. We used to pre-fill YOUR expected revenue with the mean, which drove the profit and payback lines, and it is the worst mistake this site has made.
- Census (2022): the average coin-operated laundry with employees took in about $42,524 a month, while a solo operator with no employees averaged about $7,968 a month. Those are the figures as published for 2022; this calculator carries them forward to 2025 dollars using the GDP price deflator.
- IRS (2023): sole proprietors in personal and laundry services reported net income of about 24.4 percent of receipts, though that is the owner's own take before paying themselves any wage.
- Utilities (water, gas, electric) are the largest ongoing cost after rent, and labor is light.
Margin used in this calculator: 15% to 30%. That band is our own estimate, not a published statistic. Public data does not report net profit margin for staffed businesses, so treat the payback figure as a projection, not a promise.
Where every number above comes from
-
US Census
U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census
census.gov -
US Census
U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Nonemployer Statistics
census.gov -
IRS
IRS SOI, Sole Proprietorship Returns (TY2023)
irs.gov
What this assumes, and where it could be wrong
Every one of these is a place the number could be off. They are here because you should be able to check our working, not because we are hedging.
THE CITY REGULATES YOU LIKE A SMALL FACTORY, NOT A STOREFRONT.
THE MACHINES ARE BOLTED IN, SO THE LEASE IS THE REAL CONTRACT.
WHICH NUMBERS ARE FEDERAL, AND WHICH ARE OURS.
The utility buildout (water lines, gas for the dryers, drains, and heavy electrical) is the cost first-timers underestimate. It can rival the equipment itself.
Buying an existing laundromat is often cheaper than a new build: you inherit the buildout and machines. This calculator models a new/re-equipped store; adjust the buildout line down for a turnkey purchase.
Water and gas dominate monthly costs, so the working-capital cushion matters more here than in most businesses.
The range reflects how much your lease's existing infrastructure and equipment mix move the real number.