Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Michigan

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Owosso, MI area

How the Owosso, MI 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 64 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #133 of 538 scored small-town markets
#5 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
105
23 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
42
+13.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$31M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,101 a household
Spending per listing
$295K
10% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
37.3
4% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
67,681
−0.4% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Owosso 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 Owosso area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $1,101 per household (15% above the U.S. average), households in the Owosso area spend about $31M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $295K per business, 10% above the U.S. figure of $269K.

There are 105 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Owosso area as of September 2026. Of those, 23 are chain locations, or 22%, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 37.3 for every 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Owosso area in 2023, up 13.5% from 2019. That is one for every 670 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts also show 108 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $125K has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Owosso area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Owosso area declined 0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Owosso area is 64 (upper middle), #133 of 538 scored small-town markets and #5 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Owosso area compares

The same measures for Michigan 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 Owosso, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureOwosso areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households37.335.735.7
Spending per listing$295K$286K$269K
Households per official establishment670643681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+13.5%+3.9%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,101$1,022$958
Median household income$67,404$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score6445

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
42+13.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
234
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
108Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10523 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
115The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$125K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Owosso 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 Owosso area

Population, 2025 estimate
67,681−0.4% since 2020
Households
28,126
Median age
43.7
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
531 sq. mi.
People per square mile
128
Median household income
$67,404
Average household income
$84,758
Median home value
$171,600
Jobs located here
14,880
Daytime population
55,429Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Owosso 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 Owosso area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Auto repair and car care across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Owosso area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Big Rapids, MI735834.7$303K+4.7%#62 of 538
2Hillsdale, MI726838.1$286K0.0%#68 of 538
3Marquette, MI679935.0$292K+2.3%#107 of 538
4Holland, MI6518941.5$288K+2.1%#121 of 538
5Owosso, MI6410537.3$295K−0.4%#133 of 538
Marinette, WI-MI6211338.4$278K+0.3%#161 of 538
6Adrian, MI6014938.3$286K−1.6%#177 of 538
7Houghton, MI585435.0$292K+1.8%#193 of 538
8Ludington, MI525442.2$245K0.0%#248 of 538
9Petoskey, MI505938.8$285K−1.0%#268 of 538

Other business types in the Owosso 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 Owosso, MI area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 105 auto repair and car care businesses in the Owosso area. 23 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 42 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 13.5% from 2019. Another 108 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Owosso, MI area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $31M a year, or $1,101 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 105 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $295K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 28,126 households in the Owosso area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Owosso area has 37.3 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $295K, 10% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Owosso area would have about 115, against 105 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 670 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Owosso, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Owosso area at 67,681 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 28,126 households. The median household income in the Owosso area is $67,404 a year, 17% 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 Owosso area scores 64 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #133 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 Owosso 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 Owosso area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Owosso 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 Owosso 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.