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We're thrilled to unveil our most ambitious project yet: Into the Fold 2025—the first-ever comprehensive data analysis of America's laundry landscape. #IntoTheFold2025
What is Into the Fold?
Into the Fold aims to showcase the remarkable growth of the laundry industry by combining credible reporting data with usage metrics from Cents customers. Cents has used anonymized high-level information from those who have opted in to reveal the true picture of how America cleans — uncovering patterns, preferences, and possibilities that have remained hidden in plain sight until now.*
"Industry insights and trends have historically been fragmented and inaccessible for so many in our industry," says Alex Jekowsky, CEO and co-founder of Cents. "Our mission with Into the Fold is to present unique insights and reports that enable both established and new operators to make smarter decisions across self-serve, full-service, delivery, and other service models, while highlighting the true scale and impact of this essential industry."
Key Findings from Into the Fold 2025:
- Scale & Volume: 52,392 tons of laundry is done daily at laundromats across America
- Service Economics: Pickup & Delivery orders average $79.81 (80% higher than drop-off orders at $44.19), showing the premium consumers place on maximum convenience
- Regional Variations: Hawaii commands the highest wash & fold prices at $2.92/lb, while Wisconsin offers the lowest at $1.15/lb, demonstrating significant geographic pricing differences
- Payment Evolution: Digital payments drive significantly higher order values ($49.41 for credit cards vs. $31.12 for cash), though 56% of laundromats still use quarters as their primary payment method
Why We Did This
The $60 billion laundry industry touches virtually every American household, yet operates largely without the data transparency that drives innovation in other sectors. Gone are the days of operating in silos—Into the Fold sets out to change that. By illuminating the driving force behind America's clean clothes, we're helping owners and operators enhance their businesses, researchers understand community needs, and enabling everyday people to appreciate the hidden complexity of this essential service. Together, we're folding a new chapter in laundry innovation.
Ready to immerse yourself in the fascinating world of laundry data? Discover America's laundry story at intothefoldproject.com
*Into the Fold 2025 represents our most comprehensive data collection effort to date. We've combined anonymized operational data from thousands of Cents-powered locations that have opted in with industry insights and market research to create a unique picture of America's laundry habits.
The data presented comes from multiple sources:
- Cents & Laundroworks Platform Data: Anonymized operational data from thousands of Cents-powered locations that have opted in to data sharing. This represents 1 in 12 laundromats in the U.S. market.
- Industry Research & Survey Data: Supplementary market research, industry insights from external sources, and direct feedback from laundromat owners and operators.
The report includes annual data from 2024 gathered from both Cents-powered locations and broader industry sources, along with predictive trends for 2025. Our analysis covers self-service, drop-off, and pickup & delivery revenue streams, as well as total laundry volume processed across these service categories.
Our goal is to provide valuable insights that help you benchmark your operations and identify growth opportunities in today’s growing laundry landscape.
