Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Rhode Island

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area

How the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 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 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #278 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Rhode Island

Listings
2,159
464 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
1,099
−0.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$579.7M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $858 a household
Spending per listing
$269K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
32.0
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,708,161
+2.1% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro 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 2,159 auto repair and car care businesses in the Providence-Warwick metro area. Of those, 464 are chain locations, or 21%, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 32.0, 10% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

At $858 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in the Providence-Warwick metro area spend about $579.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 2,159 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $269K per business, in line with the U.S. figure of $269K.

Official counts show 1,099 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Providence-Warwick metro area in 2023, down 0.3% from 2019. That is one for every 615 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 1,281 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 51 SBA-backed loans worth $11.8M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Providence-Warwick metro area.

Population estimates show the Providence-Warwick metro area grew 2.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For auto repair and car care businesses, the Providence-Warwick metro area has a Groundwork market score of 39 (lower middle): #278 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Rhode Island.

How the Providence-Warwick metro area compares

The same measures for Rhode Island 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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area compared with Rhode Island and the U.S.
MeasureProvidence-Warwick metro areaRhode IslandU.S.
Listings per 10k households32.031.335.7
Spending per listing$269K$273K$269K
Households per official establishment615618681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−0.3%+1.6%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.1%+1.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$858$853$958
Median household income$87,040$87,796$80,734
Groundwork market score3932

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,099−0.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,150
Annual payroll, 2023
$341.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
1,281Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,159464 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,158The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
51
Amount
$11.8M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
1,708,161+2.1% since 2020
Households
675,395
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,587 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,061
Median household income
$87,040+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$113,866
Median home value
$422,500
Jobs located here
710,441
Daytime population
1,584,744Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Other business types in the Providence-Warwick metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many auto repair and car care businesses are in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area?

There are 2,159 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Providence-Warwick metro area as of September 2026. 464 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 1,099 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, down 0.3% from 2019. Official counts list 1,281 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $579.7M a year, or $858 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,159 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $269K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 675,395 households in the Providence-Warwick metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The Providence-Warwick metro area has 32.0 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $269K, in line with the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Providence-Warwick metro area would have about 2,158, against 2,159 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 615 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Providence-Warwick metro area at 1,708,161 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 675,395 households. Median household income in the Providence-Warwick metro area is $87,040, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 Providence-Warwick metro area scores 39 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #278 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 Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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.