Commercial laundry spans service businesses, laundromats, multifamily facilities and laundry equipment suppliers. The statistics below define the population, period and geography for each measure, separating observed company and government data from estimates and proposed ENERGY STAR modeling.
Key Commercial Laundry Statistics
The most useful commercial laundry figures include:
- In May 2023, 254,060 jobs were estimated across all occupations in U.S. NAICS 812300 drycleaning and laundry services.
- In May 2023, the U.S. NAICS 812300 all-occupation median hourly wage was $16.63.
- In fiscal 2024, EVI Industries reported $353.6 million in revenue.
- In fiscal 2024, EVI Industries reported a 29.8% gross margin.
- Since 2016 through fiscal 2024, EVI Industries reported 33% compounded annual revenue growth.
- Since 2016 through fiscal 2024, EVI Industries reported 16% compounded annual net-income growth.
- Since 2016 through fiscal 2024, EVI Industries reported 30% compounded annual adjusted-EBITDA growth.
- In the current ENERGY STAR commercial washer comparison accessed in 2026, certified washers used about 45% less water than standard models.
- In the same ENERGY STAR comparison, certified commercial washers were on average 9% more energy efficient than standard models.
- In the Version 9.0 Draft 1 model, front-loading washers above 2.5 cubic feet saved an estimated 273 kWh per year versus the 2018 DOE standard.
- In that draft model, front-loading washers above 2.5 cubic feet saved an estimated 2,312 gallons of water per year.
- In the draft market assessment, 41 of 84 CCMS front-loading models above 2.5 cubic feet met the proposed criteria, a 49% pass rate.
- In the draft assessment, 16 of 258 CCMS top-loading models above 2.5 cubic feet met the proposed criteria, a 6% pass rate.
- In the draft model, front-loading washers above 2.5 cubic feet had modeled annual monetary savings of $81.
- In the draft payback model, front-loading washers above 2.5 cubic feet had an average payback of 0.7 years.
- DOE estimated 0.3 TWh of annual washer electricity consumption in U.S. retail and service buildings.
- DOE estimated 1.8 million washers in the covered U.S. retail and service-building stock.
- DOE estimated 190 kWh of annual electricity consumption per washer in those covered buildings.
Contents
- Commercial laundry industry scale and financial trends
- Commercial laundry workforce, jobs and wages
- Commercial washer efficiency and water-use data
- Commercial laundry equipment availability and standards
- Commercial laundry operating costs, savings and payback
- Commercial laundry energy loads and facility operations
Commercial Laundry Industry Scale and Financial Trends
A complete market-size total is not established by the supplied figures. Instead, the available financial data provides a company-level view through EVI Industries, a commercial-laundry distributor and service company, while the BLS industry classification covers a broader service population.
| EVI measure | Fiscal 2023 | Fiscal 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $354.2 million | $353.6 million |
| Gross profit | Not reported here | $105.3 million |
| Gross margin | 29.3% | 29.8% |
Source: EVI Industries Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Results, Including Record $33M in Operating Cash Flows. These are company figures, not total commercial-laundry market values.
EVI said fiscal-2023 revenue was 32% above fiscal-2022 revenue. It also reported an 8.0% three-year compounded annual organic revenue growth rate for businesses owned at least four years, a company-defined measure that excludes businesses held fewer than four years.
The company’s longer historical disclosures reported 33% compounded annual revenue growth, 16% compounded annual net-income growth and 30% compounded annual adjusted-EBITDA growth from 2016 through fiscal 2024. These are derived company disclosures covering EVI’s own growth history, not independent estimates for the wider industry.
Commercial Laundry Workforce, Jobs and Wage Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics measured the U.S. drycleaning and laundry services industry under NAICS 812300 in May 2023. That classification includes services to individuals, households and businesses, so it is broader than commercial laundry alone.
| BLS measure, May 2023 | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Employment, all occupations | 254,060 jobs |
| Median hourly wage, all occupations | $16.63 |
| Mean hourly wage, all occupations | $19.35 |
| Annual mean wage, all occupations | $40,260 |
Source: May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates: NAICS 812300 – Drycleaning and Laundry Services. These are employer-survey estimates for establishments of all sizes in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia.
Management represented 12,240 jobs, or 4.82% of industry employment, while top executives represented 9,650 jobs, or 3.80%. General and operations managers represented 9,550 jobs, or 3.76%.
Occupation-specific annual mean wages included $95,050 for industrial production managers and $93,660 for facilities managers. Transportation, storage and distribution managers accounted for 170 jobs, or 0.07% of industry employment.
Commercial Washer Efficiency and Water-Use Statistics
ENERGY STAR’s current commercial clothes washer page, accessed in 2026, reports program-average comparisons rather than a measured result for every model or facility. ENERGY STAR commercial washers were on average 9% more energy efficient than standard models and used about 45% less water.
Source: Commercial Clothes Washers.
The Version 9.0 Draft 1 webinar slides provide proposed, modeled comparisons against the 2018 DOE standard. The figures below are annual savings estimates, not final certification results.
| Draft washer category | Annual electricity savings | Annual water savings |
|---|---|---|
| Front load, above 2.5 cu. ft. | 273 kWh | 2,312 gallons |
| Top load, above 2.5 cu. ft. | 253 kWh | 3,882 gallons |
| Small, 2.5 cu. ft. or less | 66 kWh | 738 gallons |
Source: ENERGY STAR Laundry Draft 1 Webinar Slides: Version 9.0 Draft 1. Actual use varies with loads and settings, and the figures use the 2018 DOE baseline.
The same draft modeled 586 kWh of annual savings for commercial laundromat front-load washers and 657 gallons of annual water savings for commercial multifamily front-load washers. The draft assumptions used a 7.1-year lifetime for commercial laundromat washers and an 11.3-year lifetime for commercial multifamily washers.
Commercial Laundry Equipment Availability and Performance Standards
The draft ENERGY STAR market assessment shows how proposed criteria could affect different washer categories. Product counts can change, and the category definitions come from the draft document rather than representing every commercial laundry product.
| Category | CCMS models | ENERGY STAR qualified models | Models meeting draft criteria | Draft pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front load, above 2.5 cu. ft. | 84 | 106 | 41 | 49% |
| Top load, above 2.5 cu. ft. | 258 | 77 | 16 | 6% |
| Small, 2.5 cu. ft. or less | 31 | 41 | 11 | 35% |
| Separate commercial category | 33 | 22 | 21 | 95% |
Source: ENERGY STAR Laundry Draft 1 Webinar Slides: Version 9.0 Draft 1. The separate commercial category is defined by the ENERGY STAR draft document and is not the whole commercial laundry market.
For front-loading washers above 2.5 cubic feet, the 2018 DOE standard maximum water consumption metric was an IWF of 4.70. IWF is an efficiency metric, not gallons per cycle, so it should not be read as a direct water-use volume.
Commercial Laundry Operating Costs, Savings and Payback
ENERGY STAR’s Draft 1 financial model used assumed utility prices of $0.141 per kWh and $18.32 per thousand gallons. The resulting values are modeled utility savings, not observed facility invoices or guaranteed payback.
| Draft category | Annual monetary savings | Lifetime monetary savings | Average payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front load, above 2.5 cu. ft. | $81 | $1,048 | 0.7 years |
| Top load, above 2.5 cu. ft. | $107 | $1,385 | 3.6 years |
| Small, 2.5 cu. ft. or less | $23 | Not reported here | 1.5 years |
| Commercial laundromat front load | $98 | Not reported here | Not reported here |
| Commercial multifamily front load | $59 | Not reported here | Not reported here |
Source: ENERGY STAR Laundry Draft 1 Webinar Slides: Version 9.0 Draft 1. Lifetime results depend on the draft’s modeled equipment lives, installed costs and utility assumptions.
The modeled results show why operating-cost comparisons should be tied to a defined washer category. A top-load category can have higher modeled annual monetary savings than a front-load category while also showing a longer modeled payback, because payback incorporates modeled costs as well as annual utility savings.
Commercial Laundry Energy Loads and Facility Operations
DOE’s laundry assessment covers retail and service buildings in the United States. It measures electricity for equipment motors and controls, while excluding water-heating energy and gas-fired dryer consumption; therefore, these figures are not total laundry energy use.
| Equipment or measure | DOE estimate |
|---|---|
| Washer annual electricity consumption | 0.3 TWh |
| Dryer annual electricity consumption | 0.2 TWh |
| Dry-cleaning equipment annual electricity consumption | 0.3 TWh |
| Covered installed washers | 1,800 thousand units |
| Covered installed dryers | 2,000 thousand units |
Source: Commercial Miscellaneous Electric Loads: Detailed findings for Laundry in Retail and Service Buildings. The installed-base estimates apply to the report’s covered building stock, not all commercial laundry sites.
DOE estimated 11.5 washers per 100,000 square feet and 13.1 dryers per 100,000 square feet in the covered U.S. retail and service-building stock. Estimated unit electricity consumption was 190 kWh per year for washers and 90 kWh per year for dryers, with high variability by capacity and usage.
The assessment identified a best-in-class washer opportunity of 25% energy savings, corresponding to modeled unit energy consumption of 140 kWh per year. This is a modeled opportunity rather than a measured retrofit result, and the washer figure still excludes water-heating energy.