Auto · Small-town market · California
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Clearlake, CA area
How the Clearlake, CA 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 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #80 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 93
- 23 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 38
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $30.4M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,129 a household
- Spending per listing
- $327K
- 22% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 34.5
- 3% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 67,772
- −0.6% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Clearlake 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 Clearlake 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 93 auto repair and car care businesses in the Clearlake area. 23 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 34.5 for every 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Clearlake area comes to about $30.4M a year: $1,129 per household, 18% above the U.S. average. That is about $327K of household spending for each business on map listings, 22% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
Official counts show 38 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Clearlake area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 709 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts also show 72 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $1.7M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Clearlake area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Clearlake area declined 0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Clearlake area is 70 (upper middle), #80 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Clearlake area compares
The same measures for California 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 | Clearlake area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 34.5 | 39.1 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $327K | $287K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 709 | 614 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +3.3% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,129 | $1,122 | $958 |
| Median household income | $60,621 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 380.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 144
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 72Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 9323 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 113The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $1.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Clearlake 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 Clearlake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 67,772−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 26,940
- Median age
- 44.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,255 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 54
- Median household income
- $60,621+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,306
- Median home value
- $324,300
- Jobs located here
- 15,936
- Daytime population
- 61,990Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Clearlake 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 Clearlake 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Clearlake area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 76 | 62 | 28.5 | $441K | +0.9% | #37 of 538 |
| 1Crescent City, CA | 70 | 22 | 23.1 | $446K | −4.4% | #78 of 538 |
| 2Clearlake, CA | 70 | 93 | 34.5 | $327K | −0.6% | #80 of 538 |
| 3Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 67 | 163 | 38.0 | $313K | −0.4% | #104 of 538 |
| 4Susanville, CA | 63 | 29 | 31.4 | $347K | −13.1% | #146 of 538 |
| 5Sonora, CA | 61 | 85 | 37.5 | $305K | −4.0% | #167 of 538 |
| 6Red Bluff, CA | 61 | 90 | 36.3 | $296K | −1.7% | #168 of 538 |
| 7Eureka-Arcata, CA | 53 | 165 | 30.0 | $330K | −3.4% | #232 of 538 |
| 8Bishop, CA | 47 | 30 | 37.3 | $286K | −4.4% | #298 of 538 |
| 9Ukiah, CA | 46 | 126 | 36.2 | $290K | −3.5% | #311 of 538 |
Other business types in the Clearlake area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
- Auto repair and car care70
- Auto repair shops63
- Collision repair and body shops67
- Car washes and detailing66
- Tire shops61
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations62
- Insurance agencies76
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 Clearlake, CA area?
There are 93 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Clearlake area as of September 2026. 23 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 38 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 72 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Clearlake, CA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $30.4M a year, or $1,129 per household. That is 18% above the U.S. average (an index of 118, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 93 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $327K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,940 households in the Clearlake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Clearlake, CA area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Clearlake area has 34.5 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $327K, 22% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Clearlake area would have about 113, against 93 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 709 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Clearlake, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Clearlake area at 67,772 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 26,940 households. Median household income in the Clearlake area is $60,621, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.9%, 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 Clearlake area scores 70 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #80 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 Clearlake 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 Clearlake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Clearlake 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 Clearlake 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.