Groundwork

Auto · County · Pennsylvania

Auto repair and car care businesses in Columbia County, PA

How Columbia County, PA compares with other counties 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 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,798 of 2,401 scored counties
#20 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
97
24 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
47
+4.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$23.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $887 a household
Spending per listing
$241K
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
36.8
3% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
66,193
+2.3% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Columbia 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 Columbia County. 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 97 auto repair and car care businesses in Columbia County. 24 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That is 36.8 per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Columbia County comes to about $23.4M a year: $887 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $241K of household spending for each business on map listings, 10% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

Official counts show 47 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Columbia County in 2023, up 4.4% from 2019. That is one for every 561 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 62 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $25K has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Columbia County.

Population estimates put the population change in Columbia County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For auto repair and car care businesses, Columbia County has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #1,798 of 2,401 scored counties and #20 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania.

How Columbia County compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Columbia County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureColumbia CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households36.836.135.7
Spending per listing$241K$232K$269K
Households per official establishment561637681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.4%+0.9%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$887$837$958
Median household income$64,644$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score3620

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
45 → 47+4.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
172
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
62Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9724 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
87The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$25K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Columbia 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 Columbia County

Population, 2025 estimate
66,193+2.3% since 2020
Households
26,350
Median age
42.1
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
483 sq. mi.
People per square mile
135
Median household income
$64,644+27.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,045
Median home value
$206,200
Jobs located here
24,251
Daytime population
61,393Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Columbia 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 Columbia County. 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

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

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Pike County, PA726426.4$358K+7.2%#298 of 2,401
2Montour County, PA592228.0$322K−1.4%#778 of 2,401
3Perry County, PA577239.3$261K+2.1%#892 of 2,401
4Carbon County, PA539233.8$269K+1.7%#1,091 of 2,401
5Centre County, PA5216227.5$299K−0.4%#1,124 of 2,401
6Chester County, PA5275737.0$279K+4.2%#1,132 of 2,401
7Northampton County, PA5142734.8$266K+3.7%#1,186 of 2,401
8Cumberland County, PA5039236.8$250K+6.5%#1,246 of 2,401
9Montgomery County, PA481,16534.7$275K+2.4%#1,297 of 2,401
10Dauphin County, PA4841734.4$246K+2.3%#1,308 of 2,401
20Columbia County, PA369736.8$241K+2.3%#1,798 of 2,401

Other business types in Columbia County

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 Columbia County, PA?

Columbia County has 97 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 24 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 47 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 4.4% from 2019. Official counts list 62 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Columbia County, PA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $23.4M a year, or $887 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 97 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $241K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,350 households in Columbia County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Columbia County has 36.8 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $241K, 10% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Columbia County would have about 87, against 97 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 561 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Columbia County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Columbia County at 66,193 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,350 households. Median household income in Columbia County is $64,644, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 27.9%, 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. Columbia County scores 36 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #1,798 of 2,401 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Columbia 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 Columbia County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Columbia 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 Columbia 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.