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Auto · County · Minnesota

Auto repair and car care businesses in Mille Lacs County, MN

How Mille Lacs County, MN 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 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,320 of 2,401 scored counties
#51 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
63
12 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
19
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$13.3M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,250 a household
Spending per listing
$212K
21% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
59.0
65% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
27,753
+4.8% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs 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

At $1,250 per household (31% above the U.S. average), households in Mille Lacs County spend about $13.3M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 63 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $212K per business, 21% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

There are 63 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in Mille Lacs County as of September 2026. 12 of them (19%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 59.0, 65% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Mille Lacs County was 19 in 2023. That is one for every 562 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 41 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $4.1M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Mille Lacs County.

Population estimates show Mille Lacs County grew 4.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in Mille Lacs County is 48 (lower middle), #1,320 of 2,401 scored counties and #51 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota.

How Mille Lacs County 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.

Auto repair and car care in Mille Lacs County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureMille Lacs CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households59.033.535.7
Spending per listing$212K$330K$269K
Households per official establishment562665681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.1%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.8%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,250$1,108$958
Median household income$72,729$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score4867

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15 → 19
Employees, 2023
82
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
41Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6312 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
50The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
8
Amount
$4.1M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
27,753+4.8% since 2020
Households
10,672
Median age
41.8
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
572 sq. mi.
People per square mile
47
Median household income
$72,729+29.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$90,096
Median home value
$258,300
Jobs located here
9,682
Daytime population
24,749Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Minnesota for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Mille Lacs County marked.

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Washington County, MN8925424.1$504K+6.9%#27 of 2,401
2Carver County, MN8610625.7$506K+6.6%#42 of 2,401
3Pine County, MN814738.1$321K+5.5%#110 of 2,401
4Dakota County, MN7949628.4$400K+3.9%#145 of 2,401
5Cass County, MN784837.3$317K+4.2%#171 of 2,401
6Wabasha County, MN763639.3$317K+0.7%#213 of 2,401
7Pope County, MN751122.2$562K+0.8%#216 of 2,401
8Clay County, MN758732.9$328K+3.6%#235 of 2,401
9Wright County, MN7421038.9$341K+11.1%#253 of 2,401
10Aitkin County, MN742433.2$333K+3.5%#255 of 2,401
51Mille Lacs County, MN486359.0$212K+4.8%#1,320 of 2,401

Other business types in Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs County, MN?

As of September 2026, map listings count 63 auto repair and car care businesses in Mille Lacs County. 12 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 19 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts also show 41 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Mille Lacs County, MN spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $13.3M a year, or $1,250 per household. That is 31% above the U.S. average (an index of 131, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $212K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,672 households in Mille Lacs County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Mille Lacs County, MN compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

Mille Lacs County has 59.0 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 65% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $212K, 21% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Mille Lacs County would have about 50, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 562 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.

How fast is Mille Lacs County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Mille Lacs County at 27,753 people in 2025, up 4.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 10,672 households. The median household income in Mille Lacs County is $72,729 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Mille Lacs County scores 48 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #1,320 of 2,401 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs 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.