Auto · Small-town market · Alabama
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Selma, AL area
How the Selma, AL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #341 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama
- Listings
- 44
- 13 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $11.2M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $702 a household
- Spending per listing
- $255K
- 5% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 27.6
- 23% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 35,140
- −7.9% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Selma area
The site report maps the auto repair and car care businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Selma area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Households in the Selma area spend about $11.2M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $702 per household, 27% below the U.S. average. That works out to $255K per business, 5% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
There are 44 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Selma area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 30% of them, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 27.6, 23% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 17 businesses with payroll in the Selma area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 938 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 58 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $83K has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Selma area.
Population estimates show the Selma area declined 7.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For auto repair and car care businesses, the Selma area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #341 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama.
How the Selma area compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the auto repair and car care businesses counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Selma area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 27.6 | 36.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $255K | $255K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 938 | 754 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.1% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −7.9% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $702 | $929 | $958 |
| Median household income | $35,627 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17
- Employees, 2023
- 90
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 58Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4413 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 42The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $83K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Selma area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Selma area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 35,140−7.9% since 2020
- Households
- 15,947
- Median age
- 41.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 979 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 38
- Median household income
- $35,627+5.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $53,885
- Median home value
- $94,600
- Jobs located here
- 11,268
- Daytime population
- 34,961Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Selma area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the auto repair and car care businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Selma area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardAuto repair and car care across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Alabama for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Selma area marked.
Top small-town markets in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Talladega-Sylacauga, AL | 70 | 115 | 30.2 | $308K | 0.0% | #82 of 538 |
| 2Enterprise, AL | 63 | 78 | 37.2 | $264K | +6.3% | #156 of 538 |
| 3Scottsboro, AL | 63 | 81 | 37.2 | $260K | +3.3% | #157 of 538 |
| 4Ozark, AL | 59 | 75 | 38.0 | $239K | +1.3% | #191 of 538 |
| 5Eufaula, AL-GA | 55 | 28 | 27.5 | $296K | −1.2% | #215 of 538 |
| 6Cullman, AL | 54 | 158 | 44.7 | $235K | +6.7% | #229 of 538 |
| 7Alexander City, AL | 51 | 63 | 36.9 | $252K | −0.8% | #260 of 538 |
| LaGrange, GA-AL | 50 | 166 | 41.2 | $219K | +3.0% | #277 of 538 |
| 8Fort Payne, AL | 48 | 119 | 45.5 | $216K | +3.4% | #293 of 538 |
| 9Albertville, AL | 46 | 183 | 50.2 | $200K | +6.0% | #315 of 538 |
| 10Selma, AL | 43 | 44 | 27.6 | $255K | −7.9% | #341 of 538 |
Other business types in the Selma area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many auto repair and car care businesses are in the Selma, AL area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 44 auto repair and car care businesses in the Selma area. 13 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts also show 58 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Selma, AL area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $11.2M a year, or $702 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 44 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $255K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,947 households in the Selma area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Selma, AL area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Selma area has 27.6 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $255K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Selma area would have about 42, against 44 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 938 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.
How fast is the Selma, AL area growing?
Population estimates put the Selma area at 35,140 people in 2025, down 7.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,947 households. The median household income in the Selma area is $35,627 a year, 56% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 5.3% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Selma area scores 43 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #341 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Selma area. It maps the auto repair and car care businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for auto repair and car care businesses · All 56 business types in the Selma area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Selma area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Selma area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.