Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Pennsylvania

Auto repair and car care businesses in the St. Marys, PA area

The auto repair and car care businesses in the St. Marys, PA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #466 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania

Listings
56
10 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
22
+10.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$11.7M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $880 a household
Spending per listing
$209K
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
42.0
18% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
29,926
−3.3% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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

For auto repair and car care businesses, the St. Marys area has a Groundwork market score of 27 (lower middle): #466 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 56 auto repair and car care businesses in the St. Marys area. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 18%, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 42.0 for every 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Households in the St. Marys area spend about $11.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $880 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $209K per business, 22% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the St. Marys area in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019. That is one for every 606 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Population estimates show the St. Marys area declined 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the St. Marys 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 St. Marys, PA area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Marys areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households42.036.135.7
Spending per listing$209K$232K$269K
Households per official establishment606637681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.0%+0.9%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$880$837$958
Median household income$66,380$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score2720

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
22+10.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
54
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
43Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5610 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
44The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
29,926−3.3% since 2020
Households
13,325
Median age
47.8
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
827 sq. mi.
People per square mile
37
Median household income
$66,380+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,773
Median home value
$133,600
Jobs located here
12,876
Daytime population
29,443Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania

Small-town markets in Pennsylvania ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hemlock Farms, PA796426.4$358K+7.2%#25 of 538
2Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA459736.8$241K+2.3%#320 of 538
3Lock Haven, PA456038.9$223K+1.3%#325 of 538
4Huntingdon, PA457244.1$221K−2.4%#326 of 538
5Sunbury, PA4216135.2$239K−1.7%#347 of 538
6Lewisburg, PA405537.8$238K−0.8%#373 of 538
7Lewistown, PA396937.3$227K0.0%#386 of 538
8Pottsville, PA3823440.4$222K+1.5%#396 of 538
9Somerset, PA3212141.2$217K−2.7%#438 of 538
10Warren, PA316439.7$212K−3.8%#446 of 538
12St. Marys, PA275642.0$209K−3.3%#466 of 538

Other business types in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys, PA area?

There are 56 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the St. Marys area as of September 2026. 10 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019. Official counts list 43 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the St. Marys, PA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $11.7M a year, or $880 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 56 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $209K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,325 households in the St. Marys area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the St. Marys, PA area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The St. Marys area has 42.0 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $209K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the St. Marys area would have about 44, against 56 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 606 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the St. Marys, PA area growing?

Population estimates put the St. Marys area at 29,926 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,325 households. Median household income in the St. Marys area is $66,380, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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 St. Marys area scores 27 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #466 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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.