A social media post claiming that a neighbourhood dry cleaner earns more than ₹2 lakh a month has gone viral, surprising users and fuelling a wider discussion on income levels and career choices. The post was shared on X by content creator Nalini Unagar, who recounted a conversation with the owner of a dry cleaning shop located near her residence.

In her post, Unagar said the business is jointly managed by the shop owner and his wife, with two helpers employed on salary. She shared her astonishment at the income figures revealed during the discussion.

“Yesterday, I was talking with the dry cleaning shop owner near my house, where I regularly go. He and his wife both work together, and they have two helpers on salary. I was shocked when they said they earn around ₹2,00,000 per month, which is equal to a 10+ years experienced software engineer in India,” she wrote.

Unagar further detailed the income calculations provided by the shop owner. According to her post, the shop irons approximately 350 garments every day at ₹10 per piece, earning around ₹3,500 daily. In addition, nearly 20 heavier items — including suits, cholis and premium sarees — are dry-cleaned and ironed at ₹350 each, adding another ₹7,000 per day.

Based on these numbers, the total daily earnings were estimated at about ₹10,500. With the shop reportedly taking only three days off in a month, the projected monthly revenue was calculated at ₹2,83,500.

She added that the shop owners do not incur rental costs as they own the premises. The reported expenses include an electricity bill of roughly ₹6,000 and combined salaries of ₹40,000 paid to the two helpers. After accounting for these costs, Unagar said the couple is left with an estimated profit of around ₹2,37,500.

“They told me these figures are from last month, but on average, they earn ₹2 lakh+ every month,” Unagar noted.

The post quickly gained traction online, prompting a wave of reactions ranging from humour to criticism. One user compared the income to that of IT professionals, writing, “Meanwhile, engineers are debugging code at 2 AM for ₹2L a month…, and bhaiya is debugging wrinkles in 2 minutes for the same salary. Moral of the story: Should’ve learned ‘steam engineering’ instead of software engineering.”

Another user raised concerns about taxation, commenting, “Most importantly, they don’t pay tax on that profit/income! 80% of India is like this (at a different scale of profit, of course!). Even if half of them pay ‘nominal’ tax, that would reduce the burden on others who are lifting the entire society today!!”

Others offered a broader perspective on careers and income. “The real lesson isn’t ‘quit IT and open a shop.’ It’s this: Income is not proportional to education. It’s proportional to value captured,” a third user wrote.

“We’re conditioned to run after white-collar jobs and fixed paychecks, but stories like this remind us that owning a business—small or big—can be equally fulfilling, and sometimes far more rewarding, when done with genuine passion. Appreciate you sharing this perspective,” commented another.

“Now IT will raid him & laundry owners will curse you,” another wrote.

(This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Livemint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)

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