Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Indiana

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Auburn, IN area

How the Auburn, IN 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 68 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #96 of 538 scored small-town markets
#11 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Indiana

Listings
65
22 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
36
+9.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$20.3M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,189 a household
Spending per listing
$313K
16% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
38.0
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
44,535
+2.9% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Auburn 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 Auburn area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $1,189 per household (24% above the U.S. average), households in the Auburn area spend about $20.3M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $313K of household spending for each business on map listings, 16% above the U.S. figure of $269K.

The Auburn area has 65 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 34% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That is 38.0 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 36 businesses with payroll in the Auburn area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, up 9.1% from 2019. That is one for every 475 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 62 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $488K have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Auburn area.

Population estimates show the Auburn area grew 2.9% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Auburn area scores 68 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #96 of 538 scored small-town markets and #11 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Indiana. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Auburn area compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 Auburn, IN area compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureAuburn areaIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households38.036.335.7
Spending per listing$313K$296K$269K
Households per official establishment475675681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.1%+3.9%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.9%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,189$1,072$958
Median household income$74,331$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score6861

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
36+9.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
161
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
62Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6522 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
76The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$488K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Auburn 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 Auburn area

Population, 2025 estimate
44,535+2.9% since 2020
Households
17,096
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
363 sq. mi.
People per square mile
121
Median household income
$74,331+31.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,977
Median home value
$194,100
Jobs located here
21,740
Daytime population
43,616Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Auburn 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 Auburn area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Auto repair and car care across Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Indiana for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Indiana, with the Auburn area marked.

Top small-town markets in Indiana

Small-town markets in Indiana ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Bedford, IN866634.5$343K+1.2%#9 of 538
2Greencastle, IN795035.4$333K+3.2%#27 of 538
3New Castle, IN776836.5$305K+0.5%#36 of 538
4Frankfort, IN764435.2$330K+0.4%#38 of 538
5Madison, IN755139.9$295K+0.6%#45 of 538
6Monticello, IN744442.9$269K+2.0%#55 of 538
7Logansport, IN724831.9$323K+0.1%#66 of 538
8Connersville, IN713537.1$286K+0.7%#74 of 538
9Wabash, IN694333.9$335K−0.7%#85 of 538
10Huntington, IN685032.5$328K+1.6%#95 of 538
11Auburn, IN686538.0$313K+2.9%#96 of 538

Other business types in the Auburn 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 Auburn, IN area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 65 auto repair and car care businesses in the Auburn area. 22 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019. Official counts also show 62 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Auburn, IN area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $20.3M a year, or $1,189 per household. That is 24% above the U.S. average (an index of 124, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 65 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $313K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,096 households in the Auburn area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Auburn, IN area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The Auburn area has 38.0 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $313K, 16% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Auburn area would have about 76, against 65 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 475 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Auburn, IN area growing?

Population estimates put the Auburn area at 44,535 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 17,096 households. The median household income in the Auburn area is $74,331 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.7% 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 Auburn area scores 68 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #96 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 Auburn 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 Auburn area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Auburn 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 Auburn 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.