Auto · County · South Carolina
Auto repair and car care businesses in Saluda County, SC
How Saluda County, SC 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 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #342 of 2,401 scored counties
#5 of 44 scored counties in South Carolina
- Listings
- 24
- 4 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $7.8M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,014 a household
- Spending per listing
- $324K
- 21% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 31.3
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 19,680
- +4.1% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Saluda 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 Saluda County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 24 auto repair and car care businesses in Saluda County. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 31.3, 12% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Saluda County comes to about $7.8M a year: $1,014 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. Spread across 24 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $324K per business, 21% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Saluda County in 2023. That is one for every 852 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 35 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Saluda County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in Saluda County is 71 (upper middle), #342 of 2,401 scored counties and #5 of 44 scored counties in South Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Saluda County compares
The same measures for South Carolina 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 | Saluda County | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 31.3 | 35.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $324K | $256K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 852 | 760 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.6% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,014 | $907 | $958 |
| Median household income | $51,009 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5 → 9
- Employees, 2023
- 33
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 35Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 244 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 29The 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 Saluda 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 Saluda County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 19,680+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 7,670
- Median age
- 44.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 453 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 42
- Median household income
- $51,009+11.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,200
- Median home value
- $146,500
- Jobs located here
- 5,321
- Daytime population
- 16,117Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Saluda 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 Saluda County. 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in South Carolina for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with Saluda County marked.
Top counties in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Edgefield County, SC | 83 | 24 | 24.6 | $412K | +16.1% | #84 of 2,401 |
| 2Berkeley County, SC | 79 | 254 | 27.1 | $349K | +18.7% | #148 of 2,401 |
| 3Abbeville County, SC | 77 | 20 | 20.5 | $467K | +2.3% | #176 of 2,401 |
| 4Beaufort County, SC | 72 | 224 | 27.2 | $330K | +8.9% | #307 of 2,401 |
| 5Saluda County, SC | 71 | 24 | 31.3 | $324K | +4.1% | #342 of 2,401 |
| 6Aiken County, SC | 71 | 226 | 32.3 | $299K | +7.3% | #348 of 2,401 |
| 7Laurens County, SC | 70 | 84 | 31.2 | $299K | +6.2% | #369 of 2,401 |
| 8Calhoun County, SC | 68 | 16 | 25.9 | $400K | +0.6% | #417 of 2,401 |
| 9Fairfield County, SC | 65 | 22 | 24.6 | $374K | −2.6% | #522 of 2,401 |
| 10Oconee County, SC | 65 | 115 | 33.3 | $294K | +6.3% | #541 of 2,401 |
Other business types in Saluda County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
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 Saluda County, SC?
There are 24 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in Saluda County as of September 2026. 4 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Official counts also show 35 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Saluda County, SC spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $7.8M a year, or $1,014 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $324K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,670 households in Saluda County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Saluda County, SC compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
Saluda County has 31.3 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $324K, 21% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Saluda County would have about 29, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 852 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.
How fast is Saluda County, SC growing?
Population estimates put Saluda County at 19,680 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 7,670 households. Median household income in Saluda County is $51,009, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 11.6%, 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. Saluda County scores 71 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #342 of 2,401 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Saluda 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 Saluda County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Saluda 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 Saluda 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.