Groundwork

Auto · County · Michigan

Auto repair and car care businesses in Saginaw County, MI

How Saginaw County, MI 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,649 of 2,401 scored counties
#53 of 75 scored counties in Michigan

Listings
294
76 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
133
−0.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$77.8M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $998 a household
Spending per listing
$265K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
37.7
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
187,688
−1.1% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Saginaw 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 Saginaw County. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 294 auto repair and car care businesses in Saginaw County. Of those, 76 are chain locations, or 26%, against 24% across the U.S. That is 37.7 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Saginaw County comes to about $77.8M a year: $998 per household, 4% above the U.S. average. Spread across 294 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $265K per business, in line with the U.S. figure of $269K.

In 2023, official counts showed 133 businesses with payroll in Saginaw County classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, down 0.7% from 2019. That is one for every 586 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 133 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $790K have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Saginaw County.

Population estimates put the population change in Saginaw County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For auto repair and car care businesses, Saginaw County has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #1,649 of 2,401 scored counties and #53 of 75 scored counties in Michigan.

How Saginaw County 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 Saginaw County, MI compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureSaginaw CountyMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households37.735.735.7
Spending per listing$265K$286K$269K
Households per official establishment586643681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−0.7%+3.9%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.1%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$998$1,022$958
Median household income$60,622$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4045

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
134 → 133−0.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
819
Annual payroll, 2023
$35.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
133Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
29476 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
290The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$790K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Saginaw 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 Saginaw County

Population, 2025 estimate
187,688−1.1% since 2020
Households
77,958
Median age
41.8
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
801 sq. mi.
People per square mile
236
Median household income
$60,622+26.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,545
Median home value
$152,800
Jobs located here
77,780
Daytime population
194,916Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Saginaw 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 Saginaw County. 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 counties in Michigan for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Michigan, with Saginaw County marked.

Top counties in Michigan

Counties in Michigan ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Leelanau County, MI881919.7$627K+3.0%#28 of 2,401
2Alcona County, MI83917.0$591K+3.7%#75 of 2,401
3Lake County, MI82611.6$809K+9.1%#89 of 2,401
4Benzie County, MI802735.0$326K+3.1%#132 of 2,401
5Antrim County, MI762623.4$467K+5.3%#195 of 2,401
6Livingston County, MI7622629.6$423K+1.7%#197 of 2,401
7Cass County, MI755525.9$442K+0.2%#221 of 2,401
8Clinton County, MI759128.8$417K+1.6%#222 of 2,401
9Washtenaw County, MI7234222.7$450K−0.4%#290 of 2,401
10Monroe County, MI7219230.5$368K+0.7%#295 of 2,401
53Saginaw County, MI4029437.7$265K−1.1%#1,649 of 2,401

Other business types in Saginaw 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 Saginaw County, MI?

Saginaw County has 294 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 76 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 133 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, down 0.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 133 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Saginaw County, MI spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $77.8M a year, or $998 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 294 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $265K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 77,958 households in Saginaw County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Saginaw County has 37.7 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $265K, in line with the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Saginaw County would have about 290, against 294 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 586 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Saginaw County, MI growing?

Population estimates put Saginaw County at 187,688 people in 2025, down 1.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 77,958 households. Median household income in Saginaw County is $60,622, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.3%, 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. 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. Saginaw County scores 40 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #1,649 of 2,401 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Saginaw 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 Saginaw 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.