Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Ohio

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Bellefontaine, OH area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair and car care businesses in the Bellefontaine, OH area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #87 of 538 scored small-town markets
#9 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
74
16 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
28
+7.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$21.9M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,118 a household
Spending per listing
$295K
10% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
37.8
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
46,302
+0.4% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 74 auto repair and car care businesses in the Bellefontaine area. 16 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 37.8, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

At $1,118 per household (17% above the U.S. average), households in the Bellefontaine area spend about $21.9M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $295K per business, 10% above the U.S. figure of $269K.

In 2023, official counts showed 28 businesses with payroll in the Bellefontaine area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, up 7.7% from 2019. That is one for every 699 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts also show 48 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $880K have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Bellefontaine area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bellefontaine area grew 0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For auto repair and car care businesses, the Bellefontaine area has a Groundwork market score of 69 (upper middle): #87 of 538 scored small-town markets and #9 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Bellefontaine area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Bellefontaine, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureBellefontaine areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households37.834.535.7
Spending per listing$295K$299K$269K
Households per official establishment699778681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+7.7%+2.4%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,118$1,033$958
Median household income$71,551$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6968

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
28+7.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
105
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
48Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7416 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
81The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$880K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
46,302+0.4% since 2020
Households
19,560
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
459 sq. mi.
People per square mile
101
Median household income
$71,551+26.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,928
Median home value
$203,200
Jobs located here
19,360
Daytime population
44,374Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine 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 Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Van Wert, OH813832.9$348K+0.3%#21 of 538
2Mount Vernon, OH789640.9$280K+1.9%#32 of 538
3Coshocton, OH765134.5$305K+1.6%#42 of 538
4Athens, OH768135.2$296K+1.3%#43 of 538
5Wilmington, OH747444.2$264K+0.6%#56 of 538
6Sidney, OH718243.4$278K−0.2%#75 of 538
7Urbana, OH706340.3$293K+0.2%#83 of 538
8Wapakoneta, OH697338.5$319K−1.2%#86 of 538
9Bellefontaine, OH697437.8$295K+0.4%#87 of 538
10Findlay, OH6711335.7$305K+0.1%#105 of 538

Other business types in the Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine, OH area?

There are 74 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Bellefontaine area as of September 2026. 16 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 7.7% from 2019. Another 48 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Bellefontaine, OH area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $21.9M a year, or $1,118 per household. That is 17% above the U.S. average (an index of 117, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 74 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $295K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,560 households in the Bellefontaine area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Bellefontaine area has 37.8 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $295K, 10% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Bellefontaine area would have about 81, against 74 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 699 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Bellefontaine, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Bellefontaine area at 46,302 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,560 households. Median household income in the Bellefontaine area is $71,551, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.1%, 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 Bellefontaine area scores 69 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #87 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 Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine 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.