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Lee County, FL — Clothing stores Saturation

How many clothing stores exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 46 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Family clothing stores · General apparel shops. Counted together because official statistics use one 448140 code.

Measured density: Range spans bands — 1.36× the U.S. rate (between 1.36× and 2.12× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 36 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 25 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Range spans the U.S. rate   Lee County clothing stores — 136–212% of the U.S. rate

89 clothing stores are counted in Lee County — 0.9 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 136% of the U.S. rate of 0.7.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has fallen 5% between 2015 and 2023 (83 → 79). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 33957 (Sanibel), 33928 (Estero), 33901 (Fort Myers) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 33905 (Fort Myers), 33913 (Fort Myers), 33990 (Cape Coral).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 105 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: Lee County sits at 136% of the U.S. rate for clothing stores. 25 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 136% and 212% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 33957 and 33928; the lowest measured density is in 33905 and 33913.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing clothing stores and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Clothing stores
89–161
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (36 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
0.9
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
0.7
per 10,000 present
County index
1.36×
vs. U.S.
Latest year (CBP)
105
2023 — $47M annual payroll
Residents
817,109
35 ZIPs with data
Workers
263,033
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
860,959
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+12.5%
+95,393 people
Net migration 2024
+18,057
international +13,057, domestic +5,000
Jobs located here
284,950
LODES 2022, +5.9% since 2019

Lee County had an estimated 860,959 residents on July 1, 2024 — 12.5% more than in 2020 (+95,393). In the latest year it gained 16,733 people: births minus deaths −1,347, international migration +13,057, domestic migration +5,000. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

284,950 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+5.9% since 2019), and 309,102 employed residents lived there (+8.9% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
33920 Alva
+45.2%
33993 Cape Coral
+27.5%
33928 Estero
+27.0%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
33931 Fort Myers Beach
−21.0%
33957 Sanibel
−12.3%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses

Not shown. Census now groups clothing with clothing accessories (NAICS 45811); a family-clothing-only nonemployer count is not published.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (NAICS 2022). We do not approximate this figure.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more clothing stores in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — down 5% since 2015

Number of clothing stores in Lee County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

83
2015
87
2018
84
2020
76
2021
76
2022
79
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
33957 Sanibel
1409%
33928 Estero
1250%
33901 Fort Myers
599%
33907 Fort Myers
448%
33966 Fort Myers
232%
33990 Cape Coral
185%
33913 Fort Myers
171%
33905 Fort Myers
90%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
33905 Fort Myers
90%
33913 Fort Myers
171%
33990 Cape Coral
185%
33966 Fort Myers
232%
33907 Fort Myers
448%
33901 Fort Myers
599%
33928 Estero
1250%
33957 Sanibel
1409%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few clothing stores may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersClothing storesIndex
33924Captiva Employment hub 109420 4 18139%
33921Boca Grande Employment hub 3911,200 3 4379%

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = clothing stores per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersClothing stores Per 10kIndexStatus
33924Captiva 109420 4 125.4 18139% Very high density
33921Boca Grande 3911,200 3 30.3 4379% Very high density
33957Sanibel 6,4181,535 7 9.7 1409% Very high density
33928Estero 31,92612,501 33 8.6 1250% Very high density
33901Fort Myers 24,48123,431 15 4.1 599% Very high density
33907Fort Myers 25,03320,930 11 3.1 448% Very high density
33966Fort Myers 12,51312,371 3 1.6 232% High density
33990Cape Coral 34,7138,965 5 1.3 185% High density
33913Fort Myers 31,53821,489 5 1.2 171% High density
33905Fort Myers 41,38113,791 3 0.6 90% Below average
33902Fort Myers —263 0–2 — — Not published
33903North Fort Myers 23,6555,760 0–2 — — Not published
33904Cape Coral 33,5997,906 0–2 — — Not published
33906Fort Myers —759 0–2 — — Not published
33908Fort Myers 37,42315,796 0–2 — — Not published
33909Cape Coral 40,2317,616 0–2 — — Not published
33910Cape Coral —31 0–2 — — Not published
33912Fort Myers 19,53323,702 0–2 — — Not published
33914Cape Coral 45,5406,096 0–2 — — Not published
33915Cape Coral —33 0–2 — — Not published
33916Fort Myers 27,94314,340 0–2 — — Not published
33917North Fort Myers 33,3804,743 0–2 — — Not published
33918North Fort Myers —5 0–2 — — Not published
33919Fort Myers 30,4127,806 0–2 — — Not published
33920Alva 9,062665 0–2 — — Not published
33922Bokeelia 4,226579 0–2 — — Not published
33929Estero —62 0–2 — — Not published
33931Fort Myers Beach 8,3502,394 0–2 — — Not published
33932Fort Myers Beach —14 0–2 — — Not published
33936Lehigh Acres 27,9673,483 0–2 — — Not published
33956Saint James City 3,405811 0–2 — — Not published
33965Fort Myers 4,836331 0–2 — — Not published
33967Fort Myers 28,3413,840 0–2 — — Not published
33970Lehigh Acres —27 0–2 — — Not published
33971Lehigh Acres 30,7905,023 0–2 — — Not published
33972Lehigh Acres 17,285597 0–2 — — Not published
33973Lehigh Acres 14,392290 0–2 — — Not published
33974Lehigh Acres 19,927622 0–2 — — Not published
33976Lehigh Acres 20,277434 0–2 — — Not published
33991Cape Coral 27,7257,142 0–2 — — Not published
33993Cape Coral 35,5801,504 0–2 — — Not published
33994Fort Myers —97 0–2 — — Not published
34133Bonita Springs —40 0–2 — — Not published
34134Bonita Springs 16,47510,282 0–2 — — Not published
34135Bonita Springs 48,25214,638 0–2 — — Not published
34136Bonita Springs —9 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Fort Myers

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Fort Myers retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Fort Myers retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Fort Myers retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Lee County and clothing stores

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 448140 — family clothing stores. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 105 establishments and $47M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (0.69 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.