Auto · Small-town market · Indiana
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Peru, IN area
The auto repair and car care businesses in the Peru, IN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #169 of 538 scored small-town markets
#18 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Indiana
- Listings
- 53
- 9 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $14.4M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,081 a household
- Spending per listing
- $272K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 39.8
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 34,487
- −3.9% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Peru 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 Peru 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 53 auto repair and car care businesses in the Peru area. 9 of them (17%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That is 39.8 per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Peru area comes to about $14.4M a year: $1,081 per household, 13% above the U.S. average. Spread across 53 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $272K per business, in line with the U.S. figure of $269K.
In 2023, official counts showed 15 businesses with payroll in the Peru area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 888 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 38 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.6M has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Peru area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Peru area declined 3.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Peru area is 61 (upper middle), #169 of 538 scored small-town markets and #18 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Indiana.
How the Peru 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.
| Measure | Peru area | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 39.8 | 36.3 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $272K | $296K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 888 | 675 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.9% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.9% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,081 | $1,072 | $958 |
| Median household income | $61,139 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15
- Employees, 2023
- 62
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 38Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 539 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 54The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $1.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Peru 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 Peru area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 34,487−3.9% since 2020
- Households
- 13,318
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 374 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 96
- Median household income
- $61,139+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $77,345
- Median home value
- $126,200
- Jobs located here
- 8,510
- Daytime population
- 29,652Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Peru 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 Peru 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 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 Peru area marked.
Top small-town markets in Indiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bedford, IN | 86 | 66 | 34.5 | $343K | +1.2% | #9 of 538 |
| 2Greencastle, IN | 79 | 50 | 35.4 | $333K | +3.2% | #27 of 538 |
| 3New Castle, IN | 77 | 68 | 36.5 | $305K | +0.5% | #36 of 538 |
| 4Frankfort, IN | 76 | 44 | 35.2 | $330K | +0.4% | #38 of 538 |
| 5Madison, IN | 75 | 51 | 39.9 | $295K | +0.6% | #45 of 538 |
| 6Monticello, IN | 74 | 44 | 42.9 | $269K | +2.0% | #55 of 538 |
| 7Logansport, IN | 72 | 48 | 31.9 | $323K | +0.1% | #66 of 538 |
| 8Connersville, IN | 71 | 35 | 37.1 | $286K | +0.7% | #74 of 538 |
| 9Wabash, IN | 69 | 43 | 33.9 | $335K | −0.7% | #85 of 538 |
| 10Huntington, IN | 68 | 50 | 32.5 | $328K | +1.6% | #95 of 538 |
| 18Peru, IN | 61 | 53 | 39.8 | $272K | −3.9% | #169 of 538 |
Other business types in the Peru 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 care61
- Auto repair shops50
- Collision repair and body shops
- Car washes and detailing40
- Tire shops56
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations23
- Insurance agencies42
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 Peru, IN area?
There are 53 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Peru area as of September 2026. 9 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts also show 38 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Peru, IN area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $14.4M a year, or $1,081 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 53 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $272K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,318 households in the Peru area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Peru, IN area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Peru area has 39.8 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $272K, in line with the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Peru area would have about 54, against 53 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 888 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.
How fast is the Peru, IN area growing?
Population estimates put the Peru area at 34,487 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,318 households. Median household income in the Peru area is $61,139, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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 Peru area scores 61 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #169 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 Peru 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 Peru area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Peru 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 Peru 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.