Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area

How the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA 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 17 out of 100: Low

Ranked #376 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
1,015
252 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
388
+4.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$188M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $803 a household
Spending per listing
$185K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
43.3
21% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
574,418
+1.4% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro 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

The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area is 17 (low), #376 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,015 auto repair and car care businesses in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area. 252 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 43.3 for every 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Households in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area spend about $188M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $803 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That works out to $185K per business, 31% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

Official counts show 388 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area in 2023, up 4.9% from 2019. That is one for every 604 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $1.6M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureScranton–Wilkes-Barre metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households43.336.135.7
Spending per listing$185K$232K$269K
Households per official establishment604637681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.9%+0.9%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.4%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$803$837$958
Median household income$65,158$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score1720

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
388+4.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,911
Annual payroll, 2023
$104.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
694Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1,015252 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
700The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
10
Amount
$1.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
574,418+1.4% since 2020
Households
234,230
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,746 sq. mi.
People per square mile
326
Median household income
$65,158+21.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,979
Median home value
$187,200
Jobs located here
252,886
Daytime population
571,216Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Auto repair and car care across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1State College, PA5516227.5$299K−0.4%#158 of 387
2Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA5188135.8$249K+4.2%#200 of 387
3Gettysburg, PA4416640.6$258K+3.6%#249 of 387
4Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD417,63030.9$266K+1.4%#267 of 387
5York-Hanover, PA4170438.8$249K+3.6%#268 of 387
6Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ401,26637.3$245K+3.0%#272 of 387
7Chambersburg, PA3527242.8$234K+3.0%#304 of 387
8Reading, PA3463438.8$237K+2.7%#312 of 387
9Lebanon, PA3222639.9$228K+2.2%#321 of 387
10Pittsburgh, PA263,63134.2$238K−1.3%#346 of 387
12Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA171,01543.3$185K+1.4%#376 of 387

Other business types in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area?

There are 1,015 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area as of September 2026. 252 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 388 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 4.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 694 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $188M a year, or $803 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,015 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $185K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 234,230 households in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area has 43.3 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $185K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area would have about 700, against 1,015 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 604 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area at 574,418 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 234,230 households. Median household income in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area is $65,158, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.8%, 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area scores 17 for auto repair and car care businesses (low), #376 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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.