Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
What Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers Do
Operate or tend washing or dry-cleaning machines to wash or dry-clean industrial or household articles, such as cloth garments, suede, leather, furs, blankets, draperies, linens, rugs, and carpets. Includes spotters and dyers of these articles.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 2.3%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.2/5
- Production and Processingimportance 3.1/5
- English Languageimportance 3.0/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 2.9/5
- Mathematicsimportance 2.8/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 2.7/5
- Chemistryimportance 2.4/5
- Law and Governmentimportance 2.4/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Spend Time Standing4.6/5
- Health and Safety of Other Workers4.3/5
- Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions4.1/5
- Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment4.1/5
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.1/5
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls4.0/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers96% skill match
- Hazardous Materials Removal Workers95% skill match
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers94% skill match
- Pest Control Workers94% skill match
- Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers93% skill match
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand93% skill match
- Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers93% skill match
- Meter Readers, Utilities93% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.9/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 2.9/5
- Time Managementimportance 2.9/5
- Operation and Controlimportance 2.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.8/5
- Coordinationimportance 2.5/5
- Instructingimportance 2.4/5
- Service Orientationimportance 2.4/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Other Software Used
- Cents
- Curbside Laundries Wash and Fold POS Software
- Email software
- Property management system PMS software
- Sales processing software
- Wash-Dry-Fold POS
- Web browser software
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Cautiousness
- Integrity
- Cooperation
- Stress Tolerance
- Perseverance
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- RealisticHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- EnterprisingLow
- SocialLow
- ArtisticLow
- InvestigativeLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where laundry and dry-cleaning workers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Kahului-Wailuku, HI3.12× national avg
- 2Morgantown, WV2.93× national avg
- 3Flagstaff, AZ2.61× national avg
- 4Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV2.56× national avg
- 5Bozeman, MT2.37× national avg