Auto · Small-town market · Kansas
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Garden City, KS area
How the Garden City, KS 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 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #451 of 538 scored small-town markets
#11 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas
- Listings
- 76
- 19 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 44
- +33.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $15.5M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,170 a household
- Spending per listing
- $204K
- 24% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 57.4
- 61% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,505
- −2.1% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Garden City 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 Garden City 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
The Garden City area scores 30 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #451 of 538 scored small-town markets and #11 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $1,170 per household (22% above the U.S. average), households in the Garden City area spend about $15.5M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $204K of household spending for each business on map listings, 24% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
There are 76 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Garden City area as of September 2026. 19 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That is 57.4 per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 44 businesses with payroll in the Garden City area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, up 33.3% from 2019. That is one for every 301 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $398K have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Garden City area. Population estimates put the population change in the Garden City area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Garden City area compares
The same measures for Kansas 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 | Garden City area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 57.4 | 38.7 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $204K | $295K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 301 | 617 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +33.3% | +3.6% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.1% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,170 | $1,140 | $958 |
| Median household income | $73,009 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 44+33.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 179
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 64Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7619 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 58The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $398K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Garden City 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 Garden City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,505−2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 13,229
- Median age
- 33.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,302 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 29
- Median household income
- $73,009
- Average household income
- $91,638
- Median home value
- $201,400
- Jobs located here
- 19,852
- Daytime population
- 39,125Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Garden City 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 Garden City 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 Kansas
Every Kansas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Garden City area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ottawa, KS | 64 | 44 | 42.3 | $292K | +1.1% | #134 of 538 |
| 2Atchison, KS | 60 | 26 | 45.3 | $247K | −0.9% | #183 of 538 |
| 3Hutchinson, KS | 59 | 91 | 35.6 | $314K | −0.6% | #186 of 538 |
| 4Pittsburg, KS | 57 | 61 | 38.5 | $274K | +0.1% | #201 of 538 |
| 5Arkansas City-Winfield, KS | 56 | 58 | 43.3 | $257K | −0.4% | #209 of 538 |
| 6Emporia, KS | 53 | 59 | 40.3 | $268K | +0.4% | #234 of 538 |
| 7McPherson, KS | 42 | 68 | 55.9 | $216K | −0.4% | #355 of 538 |
| 8Salina, KS | 41 | 123 | 49.3 | $219K | −1.4% | #365 of 538 |
| 9Hays, KS | 39 | 72 | 58.8 | $207K | +0.4% | #389 of 538 |
| 10Dodge City, KS | 33 | 75 | 63.6 | $185K | −0.6% | #434 of 538 |
| 11Garden City, KS | 30 | 76 | 57.4 | $204K | −2.1% | #451 of 538 |
Other business types in the Garden City 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 care30
- Auto repair shops33
- Collision repair and body shops34
- Car washes and detailing26
- Tire shops28
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations42
- Insurance agencies18
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 Garden City, KS area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 76 auto repair and car care businesses in the Garden City area. 19 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 44 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 33.3% from 2019. Official counts list 64 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Garden City, KS area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $15.5M a year, or $1,170 per household. That is 22% above the U.S. average (an index of 122, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 76 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $204K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,229 households in the Garden City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Garden City, KS area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Garden City area has 57.4 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $204K, 24% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Garden City area would have about 58, against 76 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 301 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 33.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Garden City, KS area growing?
Population estimates put the Garden City area at 37,505 people in 2025, down 2.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,229 households. The median household income in the Garden City area is $73,009 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Garden City area scores 30 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #451 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 Garden City 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 Garden City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Garden City 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 Garden City 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.