Auto · County · Minnesota
Auto repair and car care businesses in Wadena County, MN
How Wadena 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,677 of 2,401 scored counties
#58 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota
- Listings
- 32
- 11 chain locations (34%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,157 a household
- Spending per listing
- $220K
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 52.6
- 47% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 14,388
- +1.9% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Wadena 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 Wadena County. 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 32 auto repair and car care businesses in Wadena County. Chain locations make up 34% of them, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 52.6, 47% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
At $1,157 per household (21% above the U.S. average), households in Wadena County spend about $7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 32 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $220K per business, 18% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Wadena County in 2023. That is one for every 507 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 26 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $990K have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Wadena County.
Population estimates put the population change in Wadena County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Wadena County scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #1,677 of 2,401 scored counties and #58 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota.
How Wadena 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.
| Measure | Wadena County | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 52.6 | 33.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $220K | $330K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 507 | 665 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.1% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,157 | $1,108 | $958 |
| Median household income | $61,467 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14 → 12
- Employees, 2023
- 57
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 26Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3211 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 26The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $990K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Wadena 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 Wadena County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 14,388+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 6,081
- Median age
- 41.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 536 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 27
- Median household income
- $61,467+31.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $77,288
- Median home value
- $173,000
- Jobs located here
- 5,599
- Daytime population
- 13,890Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Wadena 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 Wadena County. 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 counties in Minnesota for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Wadena County marked.
Top counties in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Washington County, MN | 89 | 254 | 24.1 | $504K | +6.9% | #27 of 2,401 |
| 2Carver County, MN | 86 | 106 | 25.7 | $506K | +6.6% | #42 of 2,401 |
| 3Pine County, MN | 81 | 47 | 38.1 | $321K | +5.5% | #110 of 2,401 |
| 4Dakota County, MN | 79 | 496 | 28.4 | $400K | +3.9% | #145 of 2,401 |
| 5Cass County, MN | 78 | 48 | 37.3 | $317K | +4.2% | #171 of 2,401 |
| 6Wabasha County, MN | 76 | 36 | 39.3 | $317K | +0.7% | #213 of 2,401 |
| 7Pope County, MN | 75 | 11 | 22.2 | $562K | +0.8% | #216 of 2,401 |
| 8Clay County, MN | 75 | 87 | 32.9 | $328K | +3.6% | #235 of 2,401 |
| 9Wright County, MN | 74 | 210 | 38.9 | $341K | +11.1% | #253 of 2,401 |
| 10Aitkin County, MN | 74 | 24 | 33.2 | $333K | +3.5% | #255 of 2,401 |
| 58Wadena County, MN | 40 | 32 | 52.6 | $220K | +1.9% | #1,677 of 2,401 |
Other business types in Wadena County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
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 Wadena County, MN?
Wadena County has 32 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 11 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts list 26 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Wadena County, MN spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $7M a year, or $1,157 per household. That is 21% above the U.S. average (an index of 121, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $220K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,081 households in Wadena County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Wadena County, MN compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
Wadena County has 52.6 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 47% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $220K, 18% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Wadena County would have about 26, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 507 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.
How fast is Wadena County, MN growing?
Population estimates put Wadena County at 14,388 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 6,081 households. Median household income in Wadena County is $61,467, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.9%, 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. Wadena County scores 40 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #1,677 of 2,401 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Wadena 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 Wadena County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Wadena 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 Wadena 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.