Laundry Statistics and Trends (Updated 2026)

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Last updated: November 14, 2026. Figures are for the United States unless a source says otherwise. Every number on this page links to the government agency, trade association, company filing, or peer-reviewed study it comes from.

How to cite this page: Laundry FAQs Team, “Laundry Statistics and Trends (Updated 2026),” Laundry FAQs, last updated November 14, 2026, https://laundryfaqs.com/laundry-stats/. If you quote a single figure, please also cite the original source linked next to it.

This page collects the most useful laundry numbers in one place: how much laundry Americans do, what it costs in energy and water, how big the detergent and laundromat businesses are, and what research says about microfibers shed in the wash. Survey years differ by source, so each figure carries its year. Read more about how we research.

Key laundry statistics at a glance

Household laundry habits

According to ENERGY STAR, the average American family washes about 300 loads of laundry each year, or roughly six loads a week. That is a family average, not a per-person figure, so real households range widely around it.

Most homes do that laundry on site. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2024 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) found that around 83% of households, 110 million homes, had both a clothes washer and a clothes dryer. Among those homes, about 85% ran the washer and dryer the same number of times per week, around 9% used the dryer more often than the washer, and 5% used the washer more often than the dryer.

The detailed RECS table, HC3.1 (preliminary, released March 2026), adds more detail for 2024:

• Washers at home: 113.0 million of 132.5 million occupied homes had a clothes washer; 19.5 million did not. Apartments in buildings with five or more units were the least likely to have one (13.6 million of 25.1 million).
• Machine type: 79.5 million homes had a top-loading washer and 33.5 million had a front-loader.
• Loads per week: 78.6 million washer households ran 1 to 4 loads a week, 26.8 million ran 5 to 9, 5.3 million ran 10 to 15, and 0.8 million ran more than 15.
• Water temperature: the usual wash setting was warm in 54.1 million homes, cold in 50.5 million, and hot in 8.4 million.
• Washer age: 38.9 million washers were 5 to 9 years old, and 25.8 million were 10 years old or older.
• Dryers: 111.3 million homes had a clothes dryer. Of those, 91.0 million used electricity, 19.1 million used natural gas, and 1.3 million used propane.

Time is the other cost. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey reports that in 2025, people age 15 and over spent an average of 0.17 hours a day on laundry, about 1.2 hours a week. Women averaged 0.26 hours a day and men 0.07 hours a day. The averages include days when no laundry was done.

Energy use

The dryer, not the washer, uses most of the electricity in a home laundry room. In the EIA’s RECS 2020 Table CE5.3a (revised March 2024), households that used each appliance averaged 0.23 million Btu a year of electricity for clothes washers and 2.32 million Btu for clothes dryers. That is about 67 kWh and 680 kWh, so the average dryer used roughly ten times as much electricity as the washer.

For the washer itself, hot water is the big energy cost. ENERGY STAR says water heating accounts for about 90% of the energy it takes to run a clothes washer, which is why switching to cold water saves energy on most loads. Our guide on what a load of laundry costs lets you put your own utility rates to these numbers.

• ENERGY STAR certified clothes washers use about 20% less energy than regular washers (ENERGY STAR, Clothes Washers).
• Certified dryers use about 20% less energy than standard models, and certified heat-pump dryers use around 70% less energy than conventional dryers (ENERGY STAR fact sheet, October 2024).
• ENERGY STAR’s clothes washer page puts lifetime energy savings for a certified washer at about $530; its October 2024 fact sheet gives about $550. Certified heat-pump dryers can save more than $500 over their lifetime, according to the same fact sheet.
• A full-size electric dryer that has earned the ENERGY STAR saves about $210 in energy bills over the life of the product (ENERGY STAR, Clothes Dryers).

Read more in our clothes dryers guide and washing machines guide.

Water use

A full-size washer that has earned the ENERGY STAR uses 14 gallons of water per load, compared with 20 gallons for a standard machine (ENERGY STAR). Certified washers use about 30% less water than regular washers, which ENERGY STAR’s October 2024 fact sheet says adds up to about 21,800 gallons over the product’s lifetime.

Machine design matters. ENERGY STAR says front-load washers use about 50% less energy and water than a top-load washer with an agitator, and about 25% less than a top-load impeller washer. See why front-load washers use less water for the trade-offs.

Laundry has become much more water-efficient over time. The Water Research Foundation’s Residential End Uses of Water study, summarized in Advances in Water Research (2016), measured an average of 31 gallons per washer load in REU2016, down from 41 gallons in REU1999. Per-person washer use fell 36%, from 15.0 to 9.6 gallons a day, the largest drop of any indoor water use. With total indoor use at 58.6 gallons per person per day in the same study, clothes washing made up roughly one-sixth (about 16%) of indoor water use.

For context, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that each person uses about 80 to 100 gallons of water a day at home, and the EPA’s WaterSense program says the average American family uses more than 300 gallons a day at home, roughly 70% of it indoors.

Detergent and laundry supplies spending

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Surveys, published through FRED, show average annual spending on laundry and cleaning supplies per consumer unit. This category is broader than detergent alone.

On the industry side, Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide, Gain, Ariel, and Downy, reports its laundry business inside its Fabric & Home Care segment. In its Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended June 30, 2025), the segment had net sales of $29.6 billion, 36% of company net sales. P&G says it is the global market leader in fabric care with over 35% market share in the markets where it competes. The segment also includes home care brands such as Dawn and Swiffer, so the figure is wider than laundry alone.

For buying advice rather than market data, see our laundry detergents and softeners guide.

Laundromat industry

CLA, The Laundry Association (formerly the Coin Laundry Association), publishes an industry overview for prospective owners. CLA notes that it compiled these figures from surveys and other sources and does not guarantee them.

• There are about 29,500 coin laundries in the United States, generating nearly $5 billion in gross revenue a year.
• Stores usually occupy 1,000 to 5,000 square feet; the 2014 average was 2,170 square feet.
• Coin laundries range in market value from $50,000 to more than $1 million and can generate cash flow of $15,000 to $300,000 a year. They typically sell for three to five times net cash flow.
• Washers are generally used three to eight or more times a day (“turns per day”), and dryer income usually runs 40% to 60% of washer income.
• CLA’s standard useful life for commercial equipment is 5 to 8 years for top-load washers (12 to 14 lb), 10 to 15 years for front-load washers (18 to 50 lb), and 10 to 15 years for dryers (30 to 60 lb).

More in our coin laundry guide, how much a laundromat makes, and whether a laundromat is cheaper than washing at home.

Microfibers and the environment

Washing synthetic clothes releases tiny fibers into wastewater. Two widely cited lab studies measured how many:

• Napper and Thompson (2016), University of Plymouth. In Marine Pollution Bulletin, the researchers estimated that a typical 6 kg wash load could release 728,789 fibers from acrylic fabric, 496,030 from polyester, and 137,951 from a polyester-cotton blend. The blend consistently shed fewer fibers than either polyester or acrylic (University of Plymouth summary).
• De Falco and colleagues (2019). Washing real garments in a household machine, this Scientific Reports study measured 124 to 308 mg of microfibers per kilogram of washed fabric, equal to roughly 640,000 to 1,500,000 microfibers depending on the garment. Release from 100% polyester shirts leveled off after four to five washes.

The same 2019 study found that tightly twisted, continuous-filament yarns shed less, which is one reason fabric construction matters as much as fiber type. For practical care tips, see how to wash polyester.

Laundry safety

Single-load detergent packets are concentrated and can seriously harm young children. America’s Poison Centers advises keeping detergent containers closed, sealed, and stored up high, out of sight and reach of children, and not handling packets with wet hands. If you suspect a child has come in contact with a packet, call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222 right away. See also how to use detergent pods correctly.

ENERGY STAR recommends leaving a front-loader’s door ajar for an hour or two after use so the seal can dry, and making sure children do not climb into the machine while the door is open.

Related guides

• Washing machines guide
• Clothes dryers guide
• Laundry detergents and softeners
• Coin laundry and laundromats
• Fabric care and stain removal
• Laundry stain removal
• How long do washers and dryers last?
• Laundry cost calculator

Frequently asked questions

How many loads of laundry does the average American family do?

About 300 loads a year, or roughly six a week, according to ENERGY STAR. Actual numbers vary with household size and habits.

What share of U.S. homes have a washer and dryer?

Around 83% of U.S. households, about 110 million homes, had both a clothes washer and a clothes dryer in 2024, according to the EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Do most Americans wash in cold water?

Not quite. In the EIA’s 2024 survey, warm was the usual setting in 54.1 million washer households, cold in 50.5 million, and hot in 8.4 million.

Which uses more energy, the washer or the dryer?

The dryer. EIA data for 2020 show about 680 kWh a year for clothes dryers versus about 67 kWh for clothes washers, among households that used them.

How much water does a washing machine use per load?

A full-size ENERGY STAR washer uses 14 gallons per load, compared with 20 gallons for a standard machine. The Residential End Uses of Water study measured an average of 31 gallons per load across the washers in its sample homes.

How many laundromats are there in the U.S.?

About 29,500 coin laundries, generating nearly $5 billion in gross revenue a year, according to CLA, The Laundry Association.

How many microfibers come off clothes in one wash?

Lab studies estimate hundreds of thousands per load. Napper and Thompson (2016) estimated about 729,000 fibers from a 6 kg load of acrylic and about 496,000 from polyester, and De Falco and colleagues (2019) measured roughly 640,000 to 1,500,000 microfibers per wash depending on the garment.

Sources

• ENERGY STAR, Clothes Washers: loads per year, water per load, energy and water savings, front-load vs. top-load, water-heating share, lifetime savings, door safety.
• ENERGY STAR, Clothes Dryers: lifetime savings for a certified electric dryer.
• ENERGY STAR, Certified Washers & Dryers fact sheet (October 2024): dryer savings, heat-pump dryers, lifetime water savings.
• U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024 RECS household characteristics highlights.
• EIA, RECS 2024 Table HC3.1, Appliances in U.S. homes (preliminary, March 2026).
• EIA, RECS 2020 Table CE5.3a, household electricity end-use consumption (revised March 2024).
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey, 2025 annual averages.
• BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Expenditures: Laundry and Cleaning Supplies, via FRED.
• Water Research Foundation, Residential End Uses of Water (REU2016), Advances in Water Research, April–June 2016.
• U.S. Geological Survey, How much water do I use at home each day?
• U.S. EPA WaterSense, How We Use Water.
• The Procter & Gamble Company, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025.
• CLA, The Laundry Association, Industry Overview.
• Napper, I. E., and Thompson, R. C. (2016). Release of synthetic microplastic plastic fibres from domestic washing machines. Marine Pollution Bulletin 112: 39–45.
• De Falco, F., et al. (2019). The contribution of washing processes of synthetic clothes to microplastic pollution. Scientific Reports 9: 6633.
• America’s Poison Centers, Laundry Detergent Packets.