Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · New Mexico

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Española, NM area

How the Española, NM area compares with other small-town markets 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 83 out of 100: High

Ranked #11 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico

Listings
25
10 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$18.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,177 a household
Spending per listing
$737K
2.7 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.0
55% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
39,832
−1.0% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Española 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 Española area. 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

For auto repair and car care businesses, the Española area has a Groundwork market score of 83 (high): #11 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for auto repair and car care businesses.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Española area comes to about $18.4M a year: $1,177 per household, 23% above the U.S. average. Spread across 25 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $737K per business, 2.7 times the U.S. figure of $269K.

There are 25 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Española area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That is 16.0 per 10,000 households, 55% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Española area was 8 in 2023. That is one for every 1,956 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $388K has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Española area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Española area declined 1.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Española area compares

The same measures for New Mexico 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 Española, NM area compared with New Mexico and the U.S.
MeasureEspañola areaNew MexicoU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.036.135.7
Spending per listing$737K$286K$269K
Households per official establishment1,956697681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.2%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.0%+0.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,177$1,033$958
Median household income$57,155$64,059$80,734
Groundwork market score8349

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
28
Annual payroll, 2023
$883K
One-person businesses, 2023
23Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2510 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
69The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$388K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Española 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 Española area

Population, 2025 estimate
39,832−1.0% since 2020
Households
15,647
Median age
43.0
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
5,861 sq. mi.
People per square mile
7
Median household income
$57,155+43.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,460
Median home value
$243,700
Jobs located here
8,255
Daytime population
39,363Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Española area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Española area. 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 New Mexico

Every New Mexico market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in New Mexico for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in New Mexico, with the Española area marked.

Top small-town markets in New Mexico

Small-town markets in New Mexico ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Los Alamos, NM842024.3$499K0.0%#10 of 538
2Española, NM832516.0$737K−1.0%#11 of 538
3Taos, NM793522.5$486K+0.3%#22 of 538
4Las Vegas, NM734129.5$365K−3.2%#60 of 538
5Silver City, NM583430.1$345K−3.4%#192 of 538
6Alamogordo, NM589739.6$254K+3.7%#197 of 538
7Ruidoso, NM553232.0$340K−2.3%#213 of 538
8Deming, NM513537.9$255K−0.2%#259 of 538
9Carlsbad-Artesia, NM4811247.4$232K+0.3%#289 of 538
10Hobbs, NM4212651.1$219K+0.2%#353 of 538

Other business types in the Española area

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 the Española, NM area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 25 auto repair and car care businesses in the Española area. 10 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts also show 23 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Española, NM area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $18.4M a year, or $1,177 per household. That is 23% above the U.S. average (an index of 123, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 25 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $737K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,647 households in the Española area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Española, NM area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The Española area has 16.0 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 55% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $737K, 2.7 times the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Española area would have about 69, against 25 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,956 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.

How fast is the Española, NM area growing?

Population estimates put the Española area at 39,832 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,647 households. The median household income in the Española area is $57,155 a year, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 43.1% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Española area scores 83 for auto repair and car care businesses (high), #11 of 538 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Española 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 Española area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Española 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 Española 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.