Auto · Metro area · California
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Salinas, CA metro area
The auto repair and car care businesses in the Salinas, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #188 of 387 scored metro areas
#13 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 511
- 113 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 251
- +8.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $160.8M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,214 a household
- Spending per listing
- $315K
- 17% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 38.6
- 8% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 433,729
- −1.5% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Salinas metro 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 Salinas metro 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
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Salinas metro area comes to about $160.8M a year: $1,214 per household, 27% above the U.S. average. Spread across 511 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $315K per business, 17% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
The Salinas metro area has 511 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 113 are chain locations, or 22%, against 24% across the U.S. That is 38.6 per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 251 businesses with payroll in the Salinas metro area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, up 8.7% from 2019. That is one for every 528 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts also show 548 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $45K have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Salinas metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Salinas metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Salinas metro area scores 52 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #188 of 387 scored metro areas and #13 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the Salinas metro 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 | Salinas metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 38.6 | 39.1 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $315K | $287K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 528 | 614 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.7% | +3.3% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,214 | $1,122 | $958 |
| Median household income | $97,230 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 52 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 251+8.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,351
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $68M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 548Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 511113 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 599The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $45K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Salinas metro 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 Salinas metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 433,729−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 132,489
- Median age
- 36.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 52%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,282 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 133
- Median household income
- $97,230+36.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $131,514
- Median home value
- $781,000
- Jobs located here
- 167,373
- Daytime population
- 429,093Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Salinas metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Salinas metro 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 metro areas in California for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in California, with the Salinas metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Merced, CA | 75 | 282 | 32.8 | $339K | +5.1% | #26 of 387 |
| 2Napa, CA | 69 | 134 | 26.9 | $449K | −3.3% | #58 of 387 |
| 3San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 68 | 2,208 | 32.5 | $374K | −0.6% | #64 of 387 |
| 4Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 64 | 299 | 30.9 | $399K | −4.7% | #85 of 387 |
| 5Vallejo, CA | 64 | 575 | 36.5 | $338K | +0.6% | #88 of 387 |
| 6San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 64 | 394 | 36.0 | $333K | 0.0% | #89 of 387 |
| 7Stockton-Lodi, CA | 64 | 1,006 | 41.0 | $298K | +5.5% | #91 of 387 |
| 8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 61 | 5,173 | 29.7 | $351K | −2.4% | #109 of 387 |
| 9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 61 | 3,281 | 37.2 | $302K | +3.2% | #114 of 387 |
| 10Yuba City, CA | 60 | 242 | 39.1 | $298K | +3.3% | #122 of 387 |
| 13Salinas, CA | 52 | 511 | 38.6 | $315K | −1.5% | #188 of 387 |
Other business types in the Salinas metro 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 care52
- Auto repair shops46
- Collision repair and body shops35
- Car washes and detailing70
- Tire shops46
- Oil change and quick lube72
- Gas stations53
- Insurance agencies50
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 Salinas, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 511 auto repair and car care businesses in the Salinas metro area. 113 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 251 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. Another 548 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Salinas, CA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $160.8M a year, or $1,214 per household. That is 27% above the U.S. average (an index of 127, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 511 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $315K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 132,489 households in the Salinas metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Salinas, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Salinas metro area has 38.6 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $315K, 17% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Salinas metro area would have about 599, against 511 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 528 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Salinas, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Salinas metro area at 433,729 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 132,489 households. The median household income in the Salinas metro area is $97,230 a year, 20% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.9% 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. 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 Salinas metro area scores 52 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #188 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Salinas metro 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 Salinas metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Salinas metro 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 Salinas metro 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.