How to buy a laundromat in 2024

The cost, revenue, and profitability of starting a laundromat business, including how to get a loan to start a laundromat

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For many entrepreneurs, the idea of owning a laundromat is an attractive proposition. Laundromats can generate cash flow anywhere between $20,000 and $1,101,548 a year, with an average cash flow of around $153,176.85 annually.

Here are the details on the revenue and cost to acquire a laundromat, plus how to purchase a laundromat in 2024. And, we include the best financing options for funding your business.

How much does a laundromat make?

The average laundromat* has an annual net cash flow of $153,176.85. This equates to roughly $12,764.74 a month over a span of a year. However, the profitability of your laundromat business comes down to its location, size, rent, wages and more.

Chart: Cash flow range of laundromats currently listed for sale

View cash flow data table
Laundromat Annual net cash flow
1 $20,000
2 $20,000
3 $20,205
4 $22,104
5 $23,232
6 $26,913
7 $29,188
8 $30,000
9 $30,597
10 $34,585
11 $36,288
12 $40,000
13 $41,646
14 $43,143
15 $45,899
16 $48,000
17 $48,192
18 $50,000
19 $50,000
20 $50,400
21 $51,789
22 $53,697
23 $55,000
24 $55,000
25 $56,000
26 $56,230
27 $56,460
28 $56,988
29 $57,782
30 $58,000
31 $58,716
32 $59,000
33 $59,197
34 $60,000
35 $60,000
36 $60,384
37 $61,620
38 $61,750
39 $61,993
40 $62,400
41 $63,000
42 $64,072
43 $65,000
44 $65,000
45 $67,000
46 $67,605
47 $68,000
48 $69,528
49 $70,000
50 $70,000
51 $70,291
52 $72,500
53 $74,000
54 $75,000
55 $75,000
56 $75,000
57 $75,000
58 $75,650
59 $75,711
60 $76,000
61 $77,000
62 $77,000
63 $78,120
64 $80,000
65 $80,000
66 $80,500
67 $80,974
68 $81,000
69 $81,500
70 $84,866
71 $85,000
72 $88,011
73 $89,000
74 $90,000
75 $90,000
76 $90,660
77 $95,000
78 $95,948
79 $96,000
80 $96,000
81 $96,000
82 $96,000
83 $96,300
84 $98,000
85 $99,090
86 $100,000
87 $100,000
88 $100,128
89 $100,530
90 $100,604
91 $101,000
92 $101,654
93 $101,887
94 $102,372
95 $104,000
96 $104,407
97 $106,500
98 $107,680
99 $109,000
100 $111,000
101 $113,786
102 $115,000
103 $115,764
104 $119,000
105 $119,910
106 $120,000
107 $120,642
108 $121,208
109 $121,748
110 $121,857
111 $122,256
112 $130,000
113 $130,000
114 $130,024
115 $130,466
116 $135,000
117 $136,251
118 $136,704
119 $139,781
120 $140,000
121 $143,000
122 $143,000
123 $144,036
124 $146,501
125 $149,139
126 $150,530
127 $150,680
128 $151,764
129 $159,000
130 $160,000
131 $160,000
132 $162,000
133 $162,409
134 $163,766
135 $165,000
136 $165,110
137 $167,227
138 $170,590
139 $170,850
140 $173,868
141 $175,000
142 $177,209
143 $179,000
144 $180,000
145 $180,000
146 $181,000
147 $182,000
148 $185,000
149 $186,000
150 $186,196
151 $190,000
152 $191,145
153 $195,000
154 $195,618
155 $198,271
156 $200,000
157 $200,508
158 $202,512
159 $204,000
160 $205,565
161 $205,725
162 $207,000
163 $209,671
164 $214,144
165 $214,145
166 $214,145
167 $220,000
168 $220,322
169 $220,683
170 $221,958
171 $227,816
172 $230,805
173 $233,660
174 $234,348
175 $237,355
176 $240,000
177 $240,375
178 $242,208
179 $246,009
180 $249,000
181 $250,000
182 $250,001
183 $251,337
184 $254,079
185 $264,000
186 $274,000
187 $275,000
188 $282,366
189 $310,000
190 $327,204
191 $334,740
192 $339,609
193 $359,540
194 $360,000
195 $375,000
196 $405,671
197 $406,643
198 $436,314
199 $450,000
200 $450,591
201 $480,000
202 $487,330
203 $550,000
204 $569,713
205 $670,000
206 $1,101,548

How to buy a laundromat

  1. Find a laundromat for sale. You can find laundromats for sale locally or online. Online you can search "laundromats for sale near me" to find a list of business or broker websites that lists laundromats for sale. It's important to also take note of your finances by knowing how much you have saved towards the purchase of a new business, as well as how much you may need to borrow to buy the business.
  2. Figure out what the business is worth. Use various valuation methods to get a general idea of the fair market value of the business you're trying to buy to make sure you're getting a good deal.
  3. Do your due diligence on owning and operating a laundromat. You'll want to weigh the pros and cons before taking the jump. Consider important factors that can affect the profitability of the business you're buying such as location, equipment, utilities and maintenance.
  4. Get a business loan and make an offer. Unless you have a lot of cash on hand, you'll need a business loan to finance the purchase of a laundromat. Check out our top picks of lenders for a laundromat business loan. Once you're ready to buy, contact and negotiate with the seller or agent of the business and finalize your offer. It may be helpful to have a lawyer look over any negotiations and final contracts.

Our top picks for a laundromat business loan

Best for small businesses

Lendio logo

For a variety of finance options

Olympus Business Capital logo

Best for business line of credit

American Express logo

Cost of buying laundromats

The average laundromat for sale costs $643,246.25*. Although prices vary widely depending on the location, the age of equipment and whether you're purchasing real estate as part of the deal. Many are listed well below the average price, and some are much higher than the average price, especially in urban locations.

With the average annual cash flow of a laundromat at $153,177, you can expect to make back your investment in roughly 4.20 years - this translates roughly to a 23.81% APY.

Chart: Cost of laundromats available for sale

View cost data table
Laundromat Annual net cash flow
1 $14,950
2 $45,000
3 $49,000
4 $50,000
5 $75,000
6 $79,000
7 $89,000
8 $95,000
9 $99,000
10 $100,000
11 $109,000
12 $110,000
13 $110,000
14 $115,000
15 $115,000
16 $119,000
17 $119,000
18 $119,000
19 $120,000
20 $120,000
21 $125,000
22 $125,000
23 $125,000
24 $125,000
25 $139,000
26 $145,000
27 $149,900
28 $150,000
29 $150,000
30 $150,000
31 $150,000
32 $160,000
33 $165,000
34 $165,000
35 $175,000
36 $175,000
37 $180,000
38 $185,000
39 $187,000
40 $195,000
41 $195,000
42 $195,000
43 $200,000
44 $200,000
45 $200,000
46 $200,000
47 $200,000
48 $200,000
49 $220,000
50 $220,000
51 $225,000
52 $225,000
53 $225,000
54 $229,000
55 $229,000
56 $230,000
57 $235,000
58 $239,000
59 $240,000
60 $245,000
61 $249,000
62 $249,900
63 $249,999
64 $250,000
65 $250,000
66 $255,000
67 $275,000
68 $275,000
69 $280,000
70 $290,000
71 $293,000
72 $293,000
73 $298,000
74 $299,000
75 $299,000
76 $299,000
77 $300,000
78 $300,000
79 $300,000
80 $300,000
81 $315,000
82 $317,000
83 $319,000
84 $325,000
85 $325,000
86 $330,000
87 $332,000
88 $340,000
89 $340,000
90 $349,000
91 $350,000
92 $350,000
93 $350,000
94 $350,000
95 $350,000
96 $359,000
97 $359,000
98 $360,000
99 $365,000
100 $375,000
101 $375,000
102 $375,000
103 $380,000
104 $385,000
105 $385,000
106 $389,000
107 $394,900
108 $395,000
109 $399,000
110 $399,000
111 $399,000
112 $400,000
113 $400,000
114 $419,000
115 $425,000
116 $425,000
117 $427,000
118 $430,000
119 $435,000
120 $436,000
121 $448,000
122 $448,000
123 $450,000
124 $450,000
125 $450,000
126 $450,000
127 $450,000
128 $459,000
129 $465,000
130 $475,000
131 $475,000
132 $475,000
133 $475,000
134 $479,000
135 $480,000
136 $500,000
137 $500,000
138 $500,000
139 $550,000
140 $550,000
141 $550,000
142 $550,000
143 $555,000
144 $595,000
145 $595,000
146 $600,000
147 $600,000
148 $649,000
149 $650,000
150 $679,000
151 $699,000
152 $700,000
153 $725,000
154 $750,000
155 $750,000
156 $765,000
157 $775,000
158 $790,000
159 $799,000
160 $800,000
161 $800,000
162 $800,000
163 $830,000
164 $875,000
165 $889,500
166 $895,000
167 $898,000
168 $899,800
169 $900,000
170 $900,000
171 $900,000
172 $900,000
173 $900,000
174 $920,000
175 $950,000
176 $999,000
177 $999,999
178 $999,999
179 $999,999
180 $999,999
181 $1,100,000
182 $1,150,000
183 $1,200,000
184 $1,257,784
185 $1,390,000
186 $1,399,999
187 $1,400,000
188 $1,490,000
189 $1,500,000
190 $1,550,000
191 $1,699,000
192 $1,700,000
193 $1,700,000
194 $1,799,000
195 $1,900,000
196 $2,000,000
197 $2,100,000
198 $2,499,000
199 $2,500,000
200 $2,900,000
201 $3,100,000
202 $3,200,000
203 $3,500,000
204 $5,000,000
205 $6,000,000
206 $6,250,000

Cost, revenue and cash flow of a laundromat

The average price-to-cash flow (P/CF) ratio of a laundromat business is 4.20. The P/CF ratio measures how much cash a company generates relative to its price. You might've heard of the term price-to-earning ratio (P/E ratio) before, which is a more commonly known ratio. Essentially, this measures how much you are paying for each dollar of the company's earnings.

The average operating cash flow margin of a laundromat business is 0.32. The operating cash flow margin can be calculated by dividing operating cash flow by revenue. The operating cash flow margin reveals how effectively a company converts its sales to cash.

The average price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of a laundromat business is 74%. The P/S ratio measures the revenue of the business divided by the cost, which indicates the percentage of the revenue you are paying for the company. Typically the lower the percentage, the better. However, it's best to look at a company's P/S ratio in comparison to the P/S ratios of similar companies in the same industry.

Chart: Cost, revenue, and cash flow breakdown of the lowest priced laundromats currently listed for sale

View data table
Laundromat Cost Revenue Cost flow
1 $14,950 $175,000 $75,000
2 $45,000 $114,665 $34,585
3 $49,000 $193,727 $53,697
4 $50,000 $60,000 $20,000
5 $75,000 $96,000 $67,605
6 $79,000 $83,712 $22,104
7 $89,000 $110,000 $30,597
8 $95,000 $95,000 $65,000
9 $99,000 $199,152 $70,291
10 $100,000 $145,525 $75,000