Auto · Small-town market · South Dakota
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Brookings, SD area
The auto repair and car care businesses in the Brookings, SD area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 79 out of 100: High
Ranked #28 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 49
- 14 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 23
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $16.2M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,172 a household
- Spending per listing
- $330K
- 23% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 35.5
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,635
- +9.6% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Brookings 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 Brookings area. 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
The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Brookings area is 79 (high), #28 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for auto repair and car care businesses.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 49 auto repair and car care businesses in the Brookings area. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 35.5 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Households in the Brookings area spend about $16.2M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,172 per household, 22% above the U.S. average. That is about $330K of household spending for each business on map listings, 23% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Brookings area in 2023. That is one for every 600 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Brookings area grew 9.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Brookings area compares
The same measures for South Dakota 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 | Brookings area | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 35.5 | 42.6 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $330K | $279K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 600 | 436 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.0% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +9.6% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,172 | $1,189 | $958 |
| Median household income | $70,064 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 79 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 23
- Employees, 2023
- 107
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 26Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4914 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 60The 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 Brookings 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 Brookings area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,635+9.6% since 2020
- Households
- 13,798
- Median age
- 31.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 792 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 45
- Median household income
- $70,064+20.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,400
- Median home value
- $264,600
- Jobs located here
- 19,000
- Daytime population
- 37,385Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Brookings 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 Brookings area. 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 Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with the Brookings area marked.
Top small-town markets in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brookings, SD | 79 | 49 | 35.5 | $330K | +9.6% | #28 of 538 |
| 2Vermillion, SD | 72 | 20 | 36.1 | $296K | +0.2% | #67 of 538 |
| 3Spearfish, SD | 56 | 57 | 47.3 | $246K | +14.0% | #210 of 538 |
| 4Yankton, SD | 50 | 46 | 47.4 | $242K | +1.5% | #272 of 538 |
| 5Huron, SD | 44 | 42 | 55.7 | $214K | +2.4% | #336 of 538 |
| 6Aberdeen, SD | 43 | 81 | 45.2 | $250K | −1.5% | #342 of 538 |
| 7Pierre, SD | 41 | 41 | 48.0 | $230K | −0.5% | #364 of 538 |
| 8Mitchell, SD | 40 | 60 | 54.7 | $216K | +0.6% | #377 of 538 |
| 9Watertown, SD | 39 | 82 | 65.5 | $180K | +4.3% | #390 of 538 |
Other business types in the Brookings area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
- Auto repair and car care79
- Auto repair shops68
- Collision repair and body shops58
- Car washes and detailing78
- Tire shops
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations73
- Insurance agencies37
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 the Brookings, SD area?
There are 49 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Brookings area as of September 2026. 14 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Another 26 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Brookings, SD area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $16.2M a year, or $1,172 per household. That is 22% above the U.S. average (an index of 122, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $330K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,798 households in the Brookings area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Brookings, SD area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Brookings area has 35.5 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $330K, 23% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Brookings area would have about 60, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 600 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.
How fast is the Brookings, SD area growing?
Population estimates put the Brookings area at 37,635 people in 2025, up 9.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,798 households. Median household income in the Brookings area is $70,064, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.5%, 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 Brookings area scores 79 for auto repair and car care businesses (high), #28 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 Brookings 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 Brookings area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brookings 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 Brookings 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.