Groundwork

Auto · County · Iowa

Auto repair and car care businesses in Montgomery County, IA

How Montgomery County, IA compares with other counties 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 26 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #2,152 of 2,401 scored counties
#69 of 72 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
27
8 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$5M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,094 a household
Spending per listing
$186K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
58.9
65% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
10,002
−3.2% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Montgomery County

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 Montgomery County. 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

Montgomery County scores 26 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #2,152 of 2,401 scored counties and #69 of 72 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $1,094 per household (14% above the U.S. average), households in Montgomery County spend about $5M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $186K per business, 31% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

There are 27 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in Montgomery County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 30% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That is 58.9 per 10,000 households, 65% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in Montgomery County classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 573 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Montgomery County declined 3.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Montgomery County compares

The same measures for Iowa 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 Montgomery County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureMontgomery CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households58.941.835.7
Spending per listing$186K$271K$269K
Households per official establishment573558681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.9%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.2%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,094$1,134$958
Median household income$63,666$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score2642

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9 → 8
Employees, 2023
47
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
15Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
278 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Montgomery County, 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 Montgomery County

Population, 2025 estimate
10,002−3.2% since 2020
Households
4,585
Median age
43.6
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
424 sq. mi.
People per square mile
24
Median household income
$63,666+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,366
Median home value
$121,400
Jobs located here
3,930
Daytime population
9,463Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Montgomery County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Montgomery County. 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 Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Montgomery County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Dallas County, IA9311727.5$437K+17.8%#9 of 2,401
2Johnson County, IA7517527.6$370K+4.6%#228 of 2,401
3Buchanan County, IA753340.0$314K+1.3%#236 of 2,401
4Tama County, IA742435.7$338K−1.5%#254 of 2,401
5Warren County, IA728440.6$310K+9.0%#316 of 2,401
6Polk County, IA6870734.4$313K+4.8%#435 of 2,401
7Bremer County, IA653738.1$321K+1.1%#532 of 2,401
8Harrison County, IA642846.0$279K+0.4%#594 of 2,401
9Story County, IA6313534.7$310K+2.7%#625 of 2,401
10Buena Vista County, IA623343.7$272K−1.7%#676 of 2,401
69Montgomery County, IA262758.9$186K−3.2%#2,152 of 2,401

Other business types in Montgomery County

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 Montgomery County, IA?

As of September 2026, map listings count 27 auto repair and car care businesses in Montgomery County. 8 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts list 15 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Montgomery County, IA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $5M a year, or $1,094 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $186K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,585 households in Montgomery County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Montgomery County, IA compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

Montgomery County has 58.9 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 65% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $186K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Montgomery County would have about 19, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 573 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.

How fast is Montgomery County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Montgomery County at 10,002 people in 2025, down 3.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,585 households. The median household income in Montgomery County is $63,666 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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. Montgomery County scores 26 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #2,152 of 2,401 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Montgomery County. 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 Montgomery County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Montgomery County?

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 Montgomery County. 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.