Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · New York

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Ithaca, NY metro area

How the Ithaca, NY metro area compares with other metro areas 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 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #120 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
95
33 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
44
+15.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$33.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $772 a household
Spending per listing
$352K
31% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.0
38% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
104,047
−1.4% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 95 auto repair and car care businesses in the Ithaca metro area. Of those, 33 are chain locations, or 35%, against 24% across the U.S. That is 22.0 per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Households in the Ithaca metro area spend about $33.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $772 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. Spread across 95 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $352K per business, 31% above the U.S. figure of $269K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Ithaca metro area was 44 in 2023, up 15.8% from 2019. That is one for every 983 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 47 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $40K has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Ithaca metro area.

Population estimates show the Ithaca metro area declined 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For auto repair and car care businesses, the Ithaca metro area has a Groundwork market score of 60 (upper middle): #120 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.

How the Ithaca metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Ithaca, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureIthaca metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.024.935.7
Spending per listing$352K$258K$269K
Households per official establishment983765681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+15.8%−1.7%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.4%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$772$642$958
Median household income$74,024$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score6035

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
44+15.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
285
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
47Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9533 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
124The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$40K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
104,047−1.4% since 2020
Households
43,263
Median age
36.4
Homes lived in by their owners
54%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
475 sq. mi.
People per square mile
220
Median household income
$74,024+22.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$102,718
Median home value
$290,900
Jobs located here
46,926
Daytime population
111,478Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ithaca metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Ithaca metro 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 York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in New York, with the Ithaca metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ithaca, NY609522.0$352K−1.4%#120 of 387
2Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY501,07328.0$292K+1.9%#204 of 387
3New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ4716,73022.6$288K+0.6%#224 of 387
4Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY3689135.0$259K+3.0%#296 of 387
5Glens Falls, NY3617932.8$258K−1.9%#297 of 387
6Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY361,49529.8$255K−0.8%#298 of 387
7Kingston, NY3524132.4$270K+1.1%#303 of 387
8Rochester, NY301,50233.7$236K−0.7%#327 of 387
9Syracuse, NY2491733.8$232K−1.3%#351 of 387
10Watertown-Fort Drum, NY2117637.0$210K−3.9%#361 of 387

Other business types in the Ithaca metro 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 Ithaca, NY metro area?

The Ithaca metro area has 95 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 33 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 44 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 15.8% from 2019. Official counts list 47 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Ithaca, NY metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $33.4M a year, or $772 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 95 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $352K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 43,263 households in the Ithaca metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ithaca, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The Ithaca metro area has 22.0 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $352K, 31% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Ithaca metro area would have about 124, against 95 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 983 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Ithaca, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Ithaca metro area at 104,047 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 43,263 households. Median household income in the Ithaca metro area is $74,024, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.9%, 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. The Ithaca metro area scores 60 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #120 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ithaca metro 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 Ithaca metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ithaca metro 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 Ithaca metro 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.