Coin laundry · United States
How to Start a Laundromat (Startup Costs, Permits, and Whether the Turns Pay)
Price the turn, the water, and the license on each machine before you sign a lease for a second room.
- 10,890NAICS 812310 establishments, Census 2023
- 75.4%of those have fewer than 5 employees (8,207 ÷ 10,890)
- $20South Dakota license, per coin machine, per year
- $172.50Camden self-service laundry license, per year
Decision summary
- Census County Business Patterns 2023, U.S. total, legal form
-, NAICS 812310: 10,890 establishments and 41,351 employees. The employment cell carries noise flag G. Read from cbp23us.zip on November 6, 2026. - Of those establishments, 8,207 have fewer than 5 employees. That works out to 75.4% (8,207 ÷ 10,890).
- The 2022 NAICS index file, opened November 6, 2026, lists “Laundromats” and also “Laundry machine routes, coin-operated” under 812310. Treat 10,890 as the whole code.
- South Dakota charges $20 a year for each coin-operated washer or dryer, or $16 in an incorporated municipality of 1,000 people or fewer. The license expires December 31 and does not move with the machine.
On this page
0. One room of machines
- Pick a room where you can name the water, the sewer, and who holds the lease.
- A route of machines in other buildings is a different offer from that room. The Census code counts both.
- Read the license lines below before you order a second machine.
Laundromat startup costs
A national startup total is not on this page. No commercial washer shelf price opened on November 6, 2026. Lease, build-out, a card reader, and the utility deposit are separate lines you type into the month’s fixed costs once you have the quotes. The license fees below are two official schedules, not a machine price.
| Line | Figure | Where it came from |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota, per coin machine | $20 / year | $16 if the machine is in an incorporated municipality of 1,000 people or fewer. Expires December 31. Not transferable to another machine. |
| Camden, New Jersey, self-service laundry | $172.50 / year | Plus $27.60 per device. Application PDF, footer marked 2023, read November 6, 2026. |
Permits
These are two official pages, not a 50-state fee table. Every other state is Not yet researched.
| Place | What the page says | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | Each coin-operated machine designed for washing, cleaning, or drying must have a license, wherever it sits. The annual rate is $20, or $16 in an incorporated municipality of 1,000 or fewer. It expires December 31 and is not transferable from one machine to another. A business license comes before the annual fee. | Department of Revenue page, November 6, 2026. |
| Camden, New Jersey | Self-service laundry license: $172.50 a year and $27.60 per device. The packet also asks for a sales-tax certificate, zoning approval, and proof of business insurance of at least $500,000 with the Camden address on the policy. | City application PDF, footer 2023, read November 6, 2026. |
| Other states and cities | Not yet researched. Do not copy South Dakota’s $20 or Camden’s $172.50 onto another map. | Not opened. |
Insurance
No laundromat premium page was opened on November 6, 2026, so this report does not print a monthly sample. Camden’s application requires proof of at least $500,000 of business insurance, and the policy must show the Camden address. That is a document the city asks for. It is not a quote. Get the policy in writing for the room and the machines you will actually run.
Does the turn pay?
Profit on one wash is the vend price minus water, energy, and soap. Profit for the month also has to clear rent, the licenses, and the machines once you know what you paid. The industry count does not set the vend price. No average store revenue was opened.
Price one turn
Type what a customer pays for one wash, and what that wash costs you in water, energy, and soap. Empty stays unknown.
10. A second room
Open another room when the turns you already sell do not fit, and the contribution still covers the extra rent, the extra machines, and each new license. The section number is an outline label, not a machine count. A wage for attendants was not taken from a Bureau of Labor Statistics table: those pages returned HTTP 403 on November 6, 2026.
First 90 days
- Days 1–14: pick one room. Ask the water and sewer utility what a laundry discharge needs before you count machines.
- Days 15–45: price the local license per machine. South Dakota’s $20 and Camden’s $172.50 plus $27.60 are two schedules, not a national fee.
- Days 46–90: time real turns in the tool. Order more machines only after those turns cover the variable cost and the month’s fixed costs.
When to stop
Stop adding a machine when the water, energy, and soap use up the vend price, or when you cannot name the license and the sewer path for that machine. The tool hides the break-even count in the first case. A route and a storefront stay separate offers until each has its own fixed costs.
Questions people ask
How do you start a laundromat?
Start with one attended or unattended coin-laundry room whose water, sewer, and local machine license you can name. Census County Business Patterns 2023 counts 10,890 employer establishments in NAICS 812310. That code is coin-operated laundries and drycleaners, including laundry routes, not only storefront laundromats. A commercial washer shelf price was not opened on November 6, 2026.
How much does it cost to start a laundromat?
This page does not have a national startup total. The lines that were read are license fees, not machines, lease, or build-out. South Dakota charges $20 a year for each coin-operated washer or dryer, or $16 in an incorporated municipality of 1,000 people or fewer. Camden, New Jersey’s self-service laundry application lists $172.50 a year plus $27.60 per device. A washer price was not copied because no shelf page opened.
Is a laundromat profitable?
On this page, a turn pays when the vend price covers the water, energy, and soap for that turn, and the month’s turns cover the fixed costs you type. The tool prints a break-even turn count only when that contribution is positive. No national profit rate or average weekly take was opened.
How many laundromats are there?
Census County Business Patterns 2023 counts 10,890 employer establishments and 41,351 employees in NAICS 812310. The employment cell in that file carries noise flag G. 8,207 of the establishments have fewer than 5 employees, which is 8,207 ÷ 10,890, or 75.4%. The 2022 NAICS index file lists laundromats and also coin-operated laundry routes under 812310, so 10,890 is the whole code.
Do I need a laundromat permit?
South Dakota requires a license for each coin-operated machine that washes, cleans, or dries, wherever it sits. The annual fee is $20, or $16 in a municipality of 1,000 or fewer, and it expires December 31. Camden requires a self-service laundry license at $172.50 a year plus $27.60 per device, plus zoning approval and proof of insurance of at least $500,000. Other states are not yet researched.
How much is laundromat insurance?
No laundromat premium was opened on November 6, 2026. Camden’s application requires proof of business insurance of at least $500,000, with the Camden address on the policy. That is one city’s document rule, not a monthly premium.
Is a laundry route the same as a laundromat?
The NAICS index puts coin-operated laundry routes and storefront laundromats in the same code, 812310. A route of machines in other people’s buildings is a different lease and a different water bill from a room you control. Price them separately. South Dakota still licenses each machine.
How do you price one wash?
Type the vend price and what that cycle costs in water, energy, and soap. Empty stays unknown. Break-even turns appear only after you also type the month’s fixed costs and the contribution is still positive.
When should I add machines?
When the turns you already sell overflow the machines you have, and the contribution still covers another machine, another license, and the water. South Dakota charges another $20, or $16 in a small municipality, for each added machine. Camden charges another $27.60 per device.
Still open
- 10,890 is all of NAICS 812310, including coin-laundry routes, not storefront laundromats alone.
- No washer, dryer, or card-reader shelf price was opened.
- No laundromat insurance premium was opened. Camden’s $500,000 is a coverage floor on one city’s form.
- No 50-state license table. South Dakota and Camden are the two official pages read. Other states are not yet researched.
- No Bureau of Labor Statistics wage was opened. The occupation pages returned HTTP 403.