Groundwork

Auto · County · Kentucky

Auto repair and car care businesses in Mercer County, KY

How Mercer County, KY 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 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,756 of 2,401 scored counties
#71 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
43
7 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
15
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$8.7M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $943 a household
Spending per listing
$201K
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
46.8
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
23,733
+4.8% since 2020

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

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Mercer County comes to about $8.7M a year: $943 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That works out to $201K per business, 25% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

There are 43 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in Mercer County as of September 2026. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 16%, against 24% across the U.S. That is 46.8 per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 15 businesses with payroll in Mercer County classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 612 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts also show 37 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Mercer County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in Mercer County is 38 (lower middle), #1,756 of 2,401 scored counties and #71 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Mercer County compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Mercer County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureMercer CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households46.836.535.7
Spending per listing$201K$243K$269K
Households per official establishment612819681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.7%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.8%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$943$889$958
Median household income$64,824$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score3845

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13 → 15
Employees, 2023
52
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
37Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
437 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
32The 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County

Population, 2025 estimate
23,733+4.8% since 2020
Households
9,181
Median age
42.4
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
249 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$64,824+17.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,091
Median home value
$202,300
Jobs located here
6,702
Daytime population
19,848Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Mercer 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 Mercer 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Spencer County, KY951723.3$563K+7.7%#2 of 2,401
2Oldham County, KY856930.0$396K+4.9%#53 of 2,401
3Allen County, KY841822.4$437K+9.5%#63 of 2,401
4Garrard County, KY821826.9$366K+7.3%#95 of 2,401
5Edmonson County, KY78917.7$550K+5.0%#152 of 2,401
6Green County, KY781533.9$312K+4.6%#172 of 2,401
7Owen County, KY77818.8$517K+2.6%#174 of 2,401
8Pendleton County, KY771425.7$410K+1.1%#180 of 2,401
9Trigg County, KY771524.8$384K+3.1%#183 of 2,401
10Lincoln County, KY732525.8$362K+4.6%#271 of 2,401
71Mercer County, KY384346.8$201K+4.8%#1,756 of 2,401

Other business types in Mercer 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 Mercer County, KY?

As of September 2026, map listings count 43 auto repair and car care businesses in Mercer County. 7 of them (16%) 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. Another 37 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Mercer County, KY spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $8.7M a year, or $943 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 43 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $201K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,181 households in Mercer County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Mercer County has 46.8 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $201K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Mercer County would have about 32, against 43 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 612 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.

How fast is Mercer County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Mercer County at 23,733 people in 2025, up 4.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 9,181 households. The median household income in Mercer County is $64,824 a year, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 17.7% 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. 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. Mercer County scores 38 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #1,756 of 2,401 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mercer 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 Mercer County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Mercer 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 Mercer 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.