Groundwork

Auto · County · Nebraska

Auto repair and car care businesses in Merrick County, NE

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair and car care businesses in Merrick County, NE, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
10
3 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$4.5M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,408 a household
Spending per listing
$451K
68% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
31.2
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,905
+3.3% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Merrick 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 Merrick County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 auto repair and car care businesses in Merrick County. Chain locations make up 30% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That is 31.2 per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Merrick County comes to about $4.5M a year: $1,408 per household, 47% above the U.S. average. That works out to $451K per business, 68% above the U.S. figure of $269K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Merrick County was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 534 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 20 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show Merrick County grew 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Merrick County compares

The same measures for Nebraska 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 Merrick County, NE compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureMerrick CountyNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households31.240.835.7
Spending per listing$451K$281K$269K
Households per official establishment534497681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.6%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.3%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,408$1,146$958
Median household income$68,354$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored48

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 6
Employees, 2023
14
Annual payroll, 2023
$540K
One-person businesses, 2023
20Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
103 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The 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 Merrick 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 Merrick County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,905+3.3% since 2020
Households
3,205
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
2.5
Land area
488 sq. mi.
People per square mile
16
Median household income
$68,354
Average household income
$88,303
Median home value
$175,900
Jobs located here
2,446
Daytime population
6,386Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Merrick 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 Merrick County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Auto repair and car care across Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

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

Top counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sarpy County, NE8023531.7$385K+9.0%#121 of 2,401
2Saunders County, NE722325.8$519K+6.0%#289 of 2,401
3Cass County, NE703835.1$384K+3.9%#354 of 2,401
4Douglas County, NE6677532.5$317K+3.6%#504 of 2,401
5Saline County, NE642854.4$265K+1.9%#596 of 2,401
6Seward County, NE582942.7$308K+2.3%#829 of 2,401
7Otoe County, NE582945.4$281K+3.9%#845 of 2,401
8Lancaster County, NE5749136.6$291K+3.4%#877 of 2,401
9Washington County, NE534148.6$276K+1.8%#1,087 of 2,401
10Dawson County, NE464751.4$251K+1.5%#1,388 of 2,401
Merrick County, NENot scored1031.2$451K+3.3%

Other business types in Merrick County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many auto repair and car care businesses are in Merrick County, NE?

There are 10 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in Merrick County as of September 2026. 3 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts list 20 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Merrick County, NE spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $4.5M a year, or $1,408 per household. That is 47% above the U.S. average (an index of 147, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $451K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,205 households in Merrick County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Merrick County has 31.2 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $451K, 68% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Merrick County would have about 17, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 534 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.

How fast is Merrick County, NE growing?

Population estimates put Merrick County at 7,905 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,205 households. Median household income in Merrick County is $68,354, 15% 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 Merrick 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 Merrick County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Merrick 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 Merrick 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.