Auto · Metro area · Oregon
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Salem, OR metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair and car care businesses in the Salem, OR metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #36 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Oregon
- Listings
- 524
- 139 chain locations (27%)
- Official establishments
- 218
- +4.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $173.3M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,084 a household
- Spending per listing
- $331K
- 23% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 32.8
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 445,814
- +2.7% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Salem 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 Salem metro area. 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
The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Salem metro area is 73 (upper middle), #36 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Oregon. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for auto repair and car care businesses.
As of September 2026, map listings count 524 auto repair and car care businesses in the Salem metro area. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That is 32.8 per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Salem metro area comes to about $173.3M a year: $1,084 per household, 13% above the U.S. average. That works out to $331K per business, 23% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
In 2023, official counts showed 218 businesses with payroll in the Salem metro area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, up 4.8% from 2019. That is one for every 733 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 18 SBA-backed loans worth $4.5M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Salem metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Salem metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Salem metro area compares
The same measures for Oregon 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 | Salem metro area | Oregon | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 32.8 | 33.0 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $331K | $318K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 733 | 689 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.8% | +1.6% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,084 | $1,050 | $958 |
| Median household income | $78,900 | $83,011 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 218+4.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,498
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $75.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 295Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 524139 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 645The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 18
- Amount
- $4.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Salem 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 Salem metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 445,814+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 159,856
- Median age
- 38.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,922 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 228
- Median household income
- $78,900+31.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $101,988
- Median home value
- $424,100
- Jobs located here
- 191,982
- Daytime population
- 440,002Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Salem 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 Salem metro area. 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 Oregon
Every Oregon market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Oregon for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Oregon, with the Salem metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Oregon
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Corvallis, OR | 86 | 76 | 19.7 | $530K | +4.4% | #1 of 387 |
| 2Salem, OR | 73 | 524 | 32.8 | $331K | +2.7% | #36 of 387 |
| 3Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 71 | 2,932 | 29.0 | $361K | +1.0% | #46 of 387 |
| 4Albany, OR | 71 | 189 | 37.3 | $307K | +3.0% | #48 of 387 |
| 5Bend, OR | 58 | 452 | 43.2 | $277K | +7.0% | #135 of 387 |
| 6Grants Pass, OR | 57 | 155 | 42.2 | $266K | −0.4% | #145 of 387 |
| 7Medford, OR | 55 | 358 | 38.9 | $273K | −0.9% | #164 of 387 |
| 8Eugene-Springfield, OR | 51 | 516 | 32.2 | $310K | −0.7% | #195 of 387 |
Other business types in the Salem metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
- Auto repair and car care73
- Auto repair shops73
- Collision repair and body shops67
- Car washes and detailing65
- Tire shops73
- Oil change and quick lube41
- Gas stations75
- Insurance agencies50
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 the Salem, OR metro area?
The Salem metro area has 524 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 139 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 218 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 4.8% from 2019. Official counts list 295 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Salem, OR metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $173.3M a year, or $1,084 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 524 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $331K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 159,856 households in the Salem metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Salem, OR metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Salem metro area has 32.8 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $331K, 23% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Salem metro area would have about 645, against 524 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 733 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Salem, OR metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Salem metro area at 445,814 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 159,856 households. Median household income in the Salem metro area is $78,900, 2% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.1%, 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. 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 Salem metro area scores 73 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #36 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 Salem 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 Salem metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Salem 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 Salem 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.