How Much Does a Laundromat Attendant Cost?
A laundromat attendant costs more per hour than the wage suggests. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median for laundry and dry-cleaning workers at $14.93 an hour in May 2023 (Source: BLS OES). That is the wage, not the cost. Payroll taxes, unemployment insurance and workers compensation sit on top, and the loaded figure is what a buyer will model.
Key takeaways
- $14.93 median, middle half $13.31 to $17.05, 90th percentile $18.71 (Source: BLS OES, May 2023).
- Employer Social Security and Medicare add 7.65% before unemployment insurance and workers comp (Source: IRS Publication 15).
- Laundry is not a clerical comp classification, so the workers comp rate reflects physical work.
- Your own unpaid hours are a real cost that a buyer deducts.
What Does BLS Report?
For laundry and dry-cleaning workers (SOC 51-6011), May 2023 (Source: BLS OES):
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $11.38 | $23,670 |
| 25th | $13.31 | $27,690 |
| Median | $14.93 | $31,050 |
| 75th | $17.05 | $35,460 |
| 90th | $18.71 | $38,920 |
Two limits on using it. It covers the whole occupation, including industrial and institutional laundries whose pay may differ from a retail laundromat's. And a municipal minimum-wage ordinance, where one exists, sets a floor independent of any national figure.
What Is the Loaded Cost?
The wage is the first line, not the total.
- Employer Social Security and Medicare: 7.65% of wages (Source: IRS Publication 15).
- Federal unemployment (FUTA): a percentage of wages up to the federal wage base, with a state credit where applicable.
- State unemployment (SUTA): varies by state and by your experience rating.
- Workers compensation: a rate per $100 of payroll, set by classification, state and claims history.
- Paid leave and benefits: whatever you offer, plus any state-mandated sick leave.
The workers comp line is the one that surprises people. Laundry operations involve lifting, wet floors, hot surfaces and machinery, and the classification rate reflects that. Rates differ enough between states that a figure quoted in one is not usable in another — get a quote for your state and classification rather than applying an assumed percentage. See payroll and workers comp.
How Do You Budget Coverage?
Not by hours in the day, but by what the attendant is for.
Presence and cleanliness can be concentrated in the busiest and riskiest hours, which are not always the same hours.
Wash-dry-fold has to cover drop-off and collection windows, which extends into times the machines are quiet.
A second trained person on limited hours is the item owners most often skip and most often need. One attendant is a single point of failure, and illness, holidays and resignation are certainties rather than risks.
Staff your schedule against your own machine-start data by hour and day, which your payment system already holds. See hiring attendants.
Why Does This Matter at Sale?
Because a buyer prices the store on what it costs them to run, not on what it costs you.
If you work the counter twenty hours a week without drawing a wage, the reported profit includes twenty hours nobody paid for. A buyer either works those hours — and prices the store as a job — or hires someone, in which case the cost is real and comes out of the earnings the price is built from.
Either way it is deducted. Owner labor is one of the add-backs most consistently rejected in diligence, and a lender's independent valuation will reject it too. See add-backs explained.
The corollary is worth knowing if you plan to sell. A store already running on paid staff has demonstrated that it works without a specific person in it, which is exactly what a buyer is trying to establish. That is a genuine argument at exit, and it is why owners planning a sale several years out often bring in paid coverage well before listing.
Why Does the Loaded Cost Matter?
Because it is the number every important decision depends on, and the wage rate understates it substantially.
The true cost includes the hourly wage plus employer payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, workers compensation premium, and any paid time off. Three decisions turn on getting it right.
Whether attendance pays at all — the comparison is the loaded cost against what attendance produces in service revenue, retention, fewer machines left out of order and better cleanliness. That comparison is invalid if one side is understated by a quarter.
What to charge for wash-and-fold, since service pricing has to cover the labour that produces it. Priced from the wage rather than the loaded cost, a service can run at a loss while appearing profitable.
What the store is worth, because a buyer normalises earnings by deducting the market cost of any labour the owner contributes unpaid. Owner labour valued at zero is the most common reason a seller's expectation and a buyer's offer diverge.
What Reduces the Real Cost?
Not paying less. Reducing turnover, because replacing an attendant costs considerably more than the wage difference that would have kept them — uncovered hours, recruiting, training, and the loss of accumulated knowledge about the store.
Three things retain people here and only one is pay. Predictable hours, since shifts that change week to week make it impossible to arrange the rest of a life. Equipment that works, because an attendant dealing with the same broken machine and the same frustrated customers every shift is absorbing a problem they cannot fix. And being treated as though the role matters — clear expectations, the tools to meet them, and someone who notices when the job is done well.
Summary
Start from $14.93 as context, adjust to your local market and any municipal minimum, then add payroll taxes, unemployment insurance and a workers comp rate specific to your state and classification. Budget coverage against your actual traffic curve rather than against opening hours, and train a second person before you need one. And treat your own unpaid hours as a cost, because the person buying your store certainly will.
The Next Step
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median wage?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported $14.93 an hour for laundry and dry-cleaning workers in May 2023, with the middle half between $13.31 and $17.05 and the 90th percentile at $18.71 (Source: BLS OES, May 2023). Local minimum-wage ordinances can set a higher floor regardless.
What does the loaded cost add?
Employer Social Security and Medicare alone add 7.65% of wages (Source: IRS Publication 15), before federal and state unemployment insurance and workers compensation. Laundry work is not a clerical comp classification, so that premium is not trivial and varies widely by state.
Is the BLS figure right for my market?
It is a national figure across the whole occupation, including industrial and institutional laundries. Your local labor market may sit well away from it, and a municipal minimum wage overrides it entirely. Use it as context, not as an answer.
What does an attendant actually do?
Cleaning and presentation, customer service, first-line maintenance like clearing coin jams, and loss prevention through presence. If wash-dry-fold is offered, add handling other people's property accurately, which carries real liability.
Do I need one?
It depends on what you want the store to be. Unattended saves the payroll and gives up wash-dry-fold, commercial accounts, and the loss prevention that presence provides. The comparison is total contribution, not the wage line alone.
How does unpaid owner labor affect a sale?
It is deducted. A buyer prices the store on what it costs someone else to run, so hours you work without a wage are a real cost they will incur. Owner labor is one of the add-backs most consistently rejected in diligence.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 51-6011 Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers, May 2023 — https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes516011.htm
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide — https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15
- Coin Laundry Association, 2024 Laundry Industry Survey (377 owner respondents, 2023 operations) — https://member.laundryassociation.org/hubfs/IndustrySurvey24.pdf
This page is general information about laundromat transactions, not legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a guarantee of sale price, timing, or financing approval. Verify current rules with your own CPA, attorney, lender, and the relevant state or municipal agency before acting.