Auto · County · Montana
Auto repair and car care businesses in Dawson County, MT
How Dawson County, MT 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
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 20
- 3 chain locations (15%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,110 a household
- Spending per listing
- $201K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 55.3
- 55% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 8,692
- −2.6% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Dawson 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 Dawson 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 20 auto repair and car care businesses in Dawson County. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 55.3, 55% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Dawson County comes to about $4M a year: $1,110 per household, 16% above the U.S. average. Spread across 20 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $201K per business, 25% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in Dawson County classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 516 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 15 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Dawson County declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Dawson County compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Dawson County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 55.3 | 43.7 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $201K | $265K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 516 | 437 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.6% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,110 | $1,157 | $958 |
| Median household income | $71,334 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 47 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8 → 7
- Employees, 2023
- 22
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 203 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Dawson 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 Dawson County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 8,692−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 3,615
- Median age
- 43.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 2,372 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $71,334
- Average household income
- $87,555
- Median home value
- $185,300
- Jobs located here
- 3,735
- Daytime population
- 8,445Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Dawson 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 Dawson 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 Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Montana for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Montana, with Dawson County marked.
Top counties in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jefferson County, MT | 94 | 13 | 26.0 | $584K | +9.8% | #7 of 2,401 |
| 2Sanders County, MT | 85 | 17 | 31.2 | $382K | +12.9% | #55 of 2,401 |
| 3Carbon County, MT | 74 | 16 | 34.3 | $384K | +9.1% | #247 of 2,401 |
| 4Big Horn County, MT | 73 | 11 | 28.7 | $395K | −2.5% | #264 of 2,401 |
| 5Lake County, MT | 68 | 43 | 34.2 | $362K | +6.9% | #421 of 2,401 |
| 6Ravalli County, MT | 60 | 82 | 43.9 | $282K | +9.4% | #747 of 2,401 |
| 7Gallatin County, MT | 59 | 223 | 43.5 | $281K | +7.7% | #800 of 2,401 |
| 8Glacier County, MT | 56 | 15 | 35.0 | $292K | −2.0% | #929 of 2,401 |
| 9Missoula County, MT | 55 | 183 | 34.7 | $306K | +4.4% | #963 of 2,401 |
| 10Park County, MT | 54 | 35 | 41.8 | $278K | +5.7% | #1,034 of 2,401 |
| Dawson County, MT | Not scored | 20 | 55.3 | $201K | −2.6% |
Other business types in Dawson County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
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 Dawson County, MT?
Dawson County has 20 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Dawson County, MT spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $4M a year, or $1,110 per household. That is 16% above the U.S. average (an index of 116, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $201K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,615 households in Dawson County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Dawson County, MT compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
Dawson County has 55.3 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 55% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $201K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Dawson County would have about 15, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 516 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.
How fast is Dawson County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Dawson County at 8,692 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,615 households. Median household income in Dawson County is $71,334, 12% 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dawson 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 Dawson County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Dawson 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 Dawson 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.