Auto · Small-town market · Kentucky
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Mount Sterling, KY area
How the Mount Sterling, KY 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #127 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 69
- 13 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $16.7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $920 a household
- Spending per listing
- $242K
- 10% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 38.0
- 6% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 48,428
- +3.1% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 69 auto repair and car care businesses in the Mount Sterling area. Of those, 13 are chain locations, or 19%, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 38.0, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Mount Sterling area comes to about $16.7M a year: $920 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That works out to $242K per business, 10% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
In 2023, official counts showed 11 businesses with payroll in the Mount Sterling area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 1,653 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 80 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Mount Sterling area grew 3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Mount Sterling area scores 65 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #127 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Mount Sterling 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.
| Measure | Mount Sterling area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 38.0 | 36.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $242K | $243K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,653 | 819 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.7% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $920 | $889 | $958 |
| Median household income | $55,208 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 76
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 80Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6913 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 62The 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 Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 48,428+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 18,181
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 679 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 70
- Median household income
- $55,208+23.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $75,334
- Median home value
- $151,900
- Jobs located here
- 13,375
- Daytime population
- 41,916Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling 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 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 Mount Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Mount Sterling, KY | 65 | 69 | 38.0 | $242K | +3.1% | #127 of 538 |
| 2Richmond-Berea, KY | 64 | 180 | 36.3 | $250K | +7.0% | #140 of 538 |
| 3Frankfort, KY | 58 | 120 | 37.1 | $246K | +3.1% | #199 of 538 |
| 4Henderson, KY | 57 | 75 | 32.0 | $271K | −0.9% | #202 of 538 |
| 5Danville, KY | 54 | 86 | 39.5 | $226K | +3.6% | #230 of 538 |
| 6Mayfield, KY | 51 | 55 | 38.9 | $230K | +1.4% | #262 of 538 |
| 7Somerset, KY | 51 | 120 | 45.8 | $200K | +3.5% | #267 of 538 |
| 8Madisonville, KY | 50 | 69 | 37.5 | $236K | −0.5% | #274 of 538 |
| 9Campbellsville, KY | 48 | 63 | 42.9 | $211K | +3.4% | #296 of 538 |
| 10Glasgow, KY | 47 | 94 | 42.5 | $210K | +2.6% | #307 of 538 |
Other business types in the Mount Sterling 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 care65
- Auto repair shops64
- Collision repair and body shops72
- Car washes and detailing67
- Tire shops63
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations41
- Insurance agencies74
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 Mount Sterling, KY area?
The Mount Sterling area has 69 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 13 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts list 80 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Mount Sterling, KY area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $16.7M a year, or $920 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 69 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $242K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,181 households in the Mount Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Mount Sterling, KY area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Mount Sterling area has 38.0 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $242K, 10% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Mount Sterling area would have about 62, against 69 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,653 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.
How fast is the Mount Sterling, KY area growing?
Population estimates put the Mount Sterling area at 48,428 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,181 households. Median household income in the Mount Sterling area is $55,208, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.5%, 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 Mount Sterling area scores 65 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #127 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 Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling 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.