Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Virginia

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area

How the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 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 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #189 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia

Listings
216
64 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
104
+1.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$66.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $945 a household
Spending per listing
$307K
14% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
30.7
14% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
181,616
−0.1% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 216 auto repair and car care businesses in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area. 64 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That is 30.7 per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

At $945 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area spend about $66.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $307K per business, 14% above the U.S. figure of $269K.

Official counts show 104 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area in 2023, up 1.0% from 2019. That is one for every 676 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts list 112 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $375K has gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area scores 52 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #189 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.

How the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area compares

The same measures for Virginia 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureBlacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro areaVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households30.731.535.7
Spending per listing$307K$307K$269K
Households per official establishment676685681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+1.0%+4.4%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.1%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$945$968$958
Median household income$65,839$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score5264

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
104+1.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
597
Annual payroll, 2023
$24.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
112Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
21664 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
247The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$375K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
181,616−0.1% since 2020
Households
70,282
Median age
38.7
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,455 sq. mi.
People per square mile
125
Median household income
$65,839
Average household income
$91,263
Median home value
$240,900
Jobs located here
72,190
Daytime population
185,735Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro 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 Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Virginia

Metro areas in Virginia ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Charlottesville, VA8121023.2$422K+3.1%#6 of 387
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV755,96425.1$359K+3.3%#25 of 387
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA5846235.3$265K+2.3%#138 of 387
2Richmond, VA561,82334.2$283K+5.5%#154 of 387
3Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC532,18230.8$296K+0.9%#178 of 387
4Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA5318234.8$277K+3.2%#182 of 387
5Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA5221630.7$307K−0.1%#189 of 387
6Lynchburg, VA4638737.4$265K+2.9%#235 of 387
7Winchester, VA-WV3925846.5$222K+6.5%#285 of 387
8Harrisonburg, VA3223647.2$222K+3.5%#322 of 387

Other business types in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area?

The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area has 216 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 64 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 104 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 1.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 112 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $66.4M a year, or $945 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 216 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $307K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 70,282 households in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area has 30.7 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $307K, 14% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area would have about 247, against 216 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 676 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area at 181,616 people in 2025, down 0.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 70,282 households. Median household income in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area is $65,839, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area scores 52 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #189 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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.