Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Kentucky

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Middlesborough, KY area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair and car care businesses in the Middlesborough, KY area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 24 out of 100: Low

Ranked #494 of 538 scored small-town markets
#15 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky

Listings
41
9 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$7.1M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $714 a household
Spending per listing
$173K
36% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
41.3
16% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
22,829
−4.8% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area. 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

The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Middlesborough area is 24 (low), #494 of 538 scored small-town markets and #15 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 41 auto repair and car care businesses in the Middlesborough area. 9 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 41.3, 16% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

At $714 per household (25% below the U.S. average), households in the Middlesborough area spend about $7.1M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $173K per business, 36% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Middlesborough area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 828 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Middlesborough area from 2020 to 2025 at −4.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Middlesborough area 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 Middlesborough, KY area compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureMiddlesborough areaKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households41.336.535.7
Spending per listing$173K$243K$269K
Households per official establishment828819681
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$714$889$958
Median household income$31,354$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score2445

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
48
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
38Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
419 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
26The 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 the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area

Population, 2025 estimate
22,829−4.8% since 2020
Households
9,939
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
359 sq. mi.
People per square mile
65
Median household income
$31,354+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$49,259
Median home value
$89,000
Jobs located here
7,622
Daytime population
23,467Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area. 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 small-town markets in Kentucky for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with the Middlesborough area marked.

Top small-town markets in Kentucky

Small-town markets in Kentucky ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Mount Sterling, KY656938.0$242K+3.1%#127 of 538
2Richmond-Berea, KY6418036.3$250K+7.0%#140 of 538
3Frankfort, KY5812037.1$246K+3.1%#199 of 538
4Henderson, KY577532.0$271K−0.9%#202 of 538
5Danville, KY548639.5$226K+3.6%#230 of 538
6Mayfield, KY515538.9$230K+1.4%#262 of 538
7Somerset, KY5112045.8$200K+3.5%#267 of 538
8Madisonville, KY506937.5$236K−0.5%#274 of 538
9Campbellsville, KY486342.9$211K+3.4%#296 of 538
10Glasgow, KY479442.5$210K+2.6%#307 of 538
15Middlesborough, KY244141.3$173K−4.8%#494 of 538

Other business types in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough, KY area?

There are 41 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Middlesborough area as of September 2026. 9 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 12 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 Middlesborough, KY area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $7.1M a year, or $714 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 41 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $173K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,939 households in the Middlesborough area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Middlesborough area has 41.3 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $173K, 36% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Middlesborough area would have about 26, against 41 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 828 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.

How fast is the Middlesborough, KY area growing?

Population estimates put the Middlesborough area at 22,829 people in 2025, down 4.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,939 households. Median household income in the Middlesborough area is $31,354, 61% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.3%, 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 Middlesborough area scores 24 for auto repair and car care businesses (low), #494 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 Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough 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.