A buddy of mine, Eddie Yoon, was recently interviewed on the Charles Schwab Network. Eddie's a growth strategist who studies consumer behavior, and he shared some data points that got me thinking about how they might apply to our industry.
One stat in particular he mentioned, multi-generational households in the U.S. have nearly tripled since 1971. Not doubled, but tripled. Thats about 59.7 million Americans now living with multiple generations under one roof. That’s 18% of the entire population.¹
This got me thinking about who our clients actually are, will be and where they're coming from.
The Laundromat Client Profile
Let's start with what we know about who uses our laundromats.
About 60% of laundromat clients are renters.² Most live within a mile of the facility—some data suggests as high as 87%.³ The median household income hovers around $28,000.⁴ And adults aged 18-34 make up a notable chunk of the client base.
That last point matters. Because the 18-34 demographic is exactly where these shifts are happening.
Two Forces Reshaping That Profile
Force One: Young adults demanding in unit laundry.
According to Apartments.com, 78% of young renters now say in unit laundry is "non-negotiable" when searching for an apartment.⁵ Not preferred, a non-negotiable for them.
Developers are responding to this. In 2024, 88% of newly completed apartments included individual laundry facilities. Only 12% had shared or no laundry facilities.⁶
Think about what that means for a second. The apartment buildings going up today are being built for renters who won't need laundromats as their primary source for laundering their clothes. They might still come in for comforters, bedding, and items that don't fit in a residential machine. But that's occasional use, not weekly visits. The frequency drops.
Force Two: Young adults staying home longer.
Here's where that Eddie Yoon data comes back. Pew Research found that 25% of adults aged 25-34 now live in multi-generational households. In 1971, that number was 9%.⁷
For the 25-29 age group specifically, it's even higher, 31% live with parents or grandparents.⁸
The reasons found are mostly financial. Housing costs, student debt, wages that haven't kept pace, and caregiving responsibilities going both directions. These aren't lazy kids in basements. They're adults making rational economic decisions in a housing market that's priced them out.
Here's where it gets interesting for us. This same generation facing financial pressure is our future client base. The prior generation is aging out. And yet laundromat owner/operators are dealing with their own rising costs, utilities climbing, labor costs increasing, equipment prices that have become astronomical.
If the next generation can't afford independence, can they afford the price increases we need to stay profitable due to our raising cost? I don't have an answer. But it's a question worth analyzing.
What This Could Mean
I'm not here to tell you the sky is falling. But I do think this data raises questions worth analyzing and discussing. And honestly, I'm looking at these numbers the same way you are, trying to figure out what it means for our businesses.
One possibility: More people per household means more laundry volume when they do come in. A family of five generates more laundry than a single person. If multi-generational households are visiting your laundromat, they might be doing bigger loads, more frequently.
Another possibility: Fewer independent households means fewer clients walking through the door. That 28 year old who would have been renting an apartment without laundry? They're at mom's house using her Whirlpool. They're not our client anymore.
A third possibility: People with home machines become occasional clients rather than regulars. They handle the weekly loads at home but bring in the comforter, the heavy bedding, the stuff that doesn't fit in a residential machine. Your client mix shifts from weekly regulars to periodic visitors.
None of these are certain. All of them are plausible. We're sharing different viewpoints based on the data, not claiming to have the answers.
Regional Reality Check
This isn't uniform across the country. The Northeast is different. About 33% of new apartments in the region still have shared or no laundry facilities.⁹ If you're operating in New York or older urban markets, the new construction trend might not hit you the same way.
Geography matters for the multi-generational shift too. States with the highest percentage of 25-34 year olds living at home, New Jersey at 44%, Connecticut at 41%, California at 39%.¹⁰ States with the lowest, North Dakota and South Dakota, both under 20%.
Your market is your market. National trends don't always translate locally.
Thinking about the thinking of laundry:
When you realize the population is growing, but your serviceable laundry market might not be growing with it.
Questions Worth Asking
This isn't about panic. It's about awareness.
What does the housing stock look like in your trade area? Are new developments going up with or without in unit laundry? What's the demographic makeup of your one mile radius? Are you seeing more multi-generational households in your neighborhood?
The forces shaping who walks through your door aren't just about your machines, your service, or your pricing. Some of them are demographic shifts that have nothing to do with laundromats at all.
Understanding those forces doesn't guarantee anything. But it beats being surprised by them.
That's all I got for you today.
Waleed
Echoing the thoughts of Peter Drucker.
The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic.
Footnotes:
¹ Pew Research Center - The Demographics of Multigenerational Households, 2022
² The Laundry Boss - Laundromat Industry Data & Trends, 2025
³ Planet Laundry - From Demographics to Dollars, 2024
⁴ The Laundry Bag - Laundromat Statistics in 2025
⁵ Apartments.com - What Do Young Renters Want?, 2024
⁶ NAHB Eye on Housing - Laundry Room Locations in New Homes and Apartments, 2024
⁷ Pew Research Center - Multigenerational Living Is Growing Fastest Among Young Americans, 2022
⁸ Pew Research Center - The Demographics of Multigenerational Households, 2022
⁹ NAHB Eye on Housing - Laundry Room Locations in New Homes and Apartments, 2024
¹⁰ NAHB Eye on Housing - Affordability Impacts: Young Adults Are Once Again Moving Back Home, 2025
