Auto · Metro area · Minnesota
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Duluth, MN-WI metro area
The auto repair and car care businesses in the Duluth, MN-WI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #191 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 448
- 104 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 188
- −1.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $129.9M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,079 a household
- Spending per listing
- $290K
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 37.2
- 4% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 281,219
- +0.2% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Duluth metro 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 Duluth metro 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
Households in the Duluth metro area spend about $129.9M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,079 per household, 13% above the U.S. average. That works out to $290K per business, 8% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
The Duluth metro area has 448 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 104 are chain locations, or 23%, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 37.2 for every 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 188 businesses with payroll in the Duluth metro area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, down 1.1% from 2019. That is one for every 640 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 247 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $5.9M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Duluth metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Duluth metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Duluth metro area is 52 (upper middle), #191 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota.
How the Duluth metro area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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 | Duluth metro area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 37.2 | 33.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $290K | $330K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 640 | 665 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.1% | +3.1% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.2% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,079 | $1,108 | $958 |
| Median household income | $71,769 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 52 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 188−1.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,086
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $53.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 247Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 448104 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 484The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 8
- Amount
- $5.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Duluth metro 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 Duluth metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 281,219+0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 120,365
- Median age
- 42.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 8,414 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $71,769
- Average household income
- $93,302
- Median home value
- $222,400
- Jobs located here
- 128,505
- Daytime population
- 284,674Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Duluth metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Duluth metro 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Minnesota for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Duluth metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 78 | 4,270 | 28.9 | $377K | +2.6% | #18 of 387 |
| Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 73 | 431 | 35.2 | $326K | +9.5% | #37 of 387 |
| Fargo, ND-MN | 66 | 381 | 34.5 | $301K | +7.7% | #79 of 387 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 63 | 239 | 33.2 | $318K | +0.4% | #94 of 387 |
| 2Rochester, MN | 63 | 347 | 37.4 | $305K | +2.0% | #96 of 387 |
| 3Mankato, MN | 54 | 151 | 37.2 | $300K | +1.2% | #169 of 387 |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN | 53 | 146 | 33.4 | $313K | +0.8% | #176 of 387 |
| 4Duluth, MN-WI | 52 | 448 | 37.2 | $290K | +0.2% | #191 of 387 |
| 5St. Cloud, MN | 47 | 338 | 43.3 | $261K | +3.0% | #229 of 387 |
Other business types in the Duluth metro 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 care52
- Auto repair shops45
- Collision repair and body shops26
- Car washes and detailing77
- Tire shops66
- Oil change and quick lube52
- Gas stations42
- Insurance agencies32
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 Duluth, MN-WI metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 448 auto repair and car care businesses in the Duluth metro area. 104 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 188 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, down 1.1% from 2019. Official counts list 247 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Duluth, MN-WI metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $129.9M a year, or $1,079 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 448 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $290K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 120,365 households in the Duluth metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Duluth, MN-WI metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Duluth metro area has 37.2 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $290K, 8% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Duluth metro area would have about 484, against 448 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 640 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Duluth, MN-WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Duluth metro area at 281,219 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 120,365 households. The median household income in the Duluth metro area is $71,769 a year, 11% 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. 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 Duluth metro area scores 52 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #191 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Duluth metro 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 Duluth metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Duluth metro 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 Duluth metro 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.