Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · California

Auto repair and car care businesses in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair and car care businesses in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 68 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #64 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
2,208
431 chain locations (20%)
Official establishments
1,011
−1.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$825.2M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,214 a household
Spending per listing
$374K
39% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
32.5
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,984,473
−0.6% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area comes to about $825.2M a year: $1,214 per household, 27% above the U.S. average. Spread across 2,208 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $374K per business, 39% above the U.S. figure of $269K.

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area has 2,208 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 431 of them (20%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 32.5 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Official counts show 1,011 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. That is one for every 673 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts also show 1,033 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 35 SBA-backed loans worth $27.4M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area declined 0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area is 68 (upper middle), #64 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.

Auto repair and car care in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households32.539.135.7
Spending per listing$374K$287K$269K
Households per official establishment673614681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−1.9%+3.3%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,214$1,122$958
Median household income$162,111$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score6846

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,011−1.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,131
Annual payroll, 2023
$367.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
1,033Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,208431 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3,072The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
35
Amount
$27.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,984,473−0.6% since 2020
Households
679,914
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,680 sq. mi.
People per square mile
735
Median household income
$162,111+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$224,488
Median home value
$1,447,800
Jobs located here
1,157,383
Daytime population
2,140,529Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Auto 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Merced, CA7528232.8$339K+5.1%#26 of 387
2Napa, CA6913426.9$449K−3.3%#58 of 387
3San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA682,20832.5$374K−0.6%#64 of 387
4Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA6429930.9$399K−4.7%#85 of 387
5Vallejo, CA6457536.5$338K+0.6%#88 of 387
6San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA6439436.0$333K0.0%#89 of 387
7Stockton-Lodi, CA641,00641.0$298K+5.5%#91 of 387
8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA615,17329.7$351K−2.4%#109 of 387
9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA613,28137.2$302K+3.2%#114 of 387
10Yuba City, CA6024239.1$298K+3.3%#122 of 387

Other business types in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many auto repair and car care businesses are in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,208 auto repair and car care businesses in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. 431 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 1,011 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. Another 1,033 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $825.2M 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 2,208 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $374K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 679,914 households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area has 32.5 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $374K, 39% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area would have about 3,072, against 2,208 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 673 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area at 1,984,473 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 679,914 households. The median household income in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area is $162,111 a year, twice the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.4% 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area scores 68 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #64 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.