Auto · Metro area · Delaware
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Dover, DE metro area
How the Dover, DE metro area compares with other metro areas 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #84 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware
- Listings
- 224
- 72 chain locations (32%)
- Official establishments
- 94
- +23.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $65M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $910 a household
- Spending per listing
- $290K
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 31.4
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 194,786
- +6.8% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Dover 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 Dover 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 224 auto repair and car care businesses in the Dover metro area. Chain locations make up 32% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That is 31.4 per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Dover metro area comes to about $65M a year: $910 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Spread across 224 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $290K per business, 8% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Dover metro area was 94 in 2023, up 23.7% from 2019. That is one for every 760 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 204 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $500K has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Dover metro area.
Population estimates show the Dover metro area grew 6.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Dover metro area is 65 (upper middle), #84 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Dover metro area compares
The same measures for Delaware 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 | Dover metro area | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 31.4 | 31.4 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $290K | $287K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 760 | 834 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +23.7% | +7.1% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.8% | +6.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $910 | $902 | $958 |
| Median household income | $74,477 | $84,954 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 94+23.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 642
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $33.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 204Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 22472 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 242The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $500K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Dover 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 Dover metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 194,786+6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 71,424
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 586 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 320
- Median household income
- $74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,801
- Median home value
- $316,600
- Jobs located here
- 66,799
- Daytime population
- 177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dover 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 Dover 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 Delaware
Every Delaware market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Delaware
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dover, DE | 65 | 224 | 31.4 | $290K | +6.8% | #84 of 387 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 41 | 7,630 | 30.9 | $266K | +1.4% | #267 of 387 |
Other business types in the Dover 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 care65
- Auto repair shops66
- Collision repair and body shops70
- Car washes and detailing61
- Tire shops49
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations80
- Insurance agencies88
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 Dover, DE metro area?
There are 224 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Dover metro area as of September 2026. 72 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 94 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 23.7% from 2019. Official counts list 204 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $65M a year, or $910 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 224 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $290K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Dover metro area has 31.4 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $290K, 8% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 242, against 224 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 760 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 23.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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 Dover metro area scores 65 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #84 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.