Auto · Metro area · Virginia
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Charlottesville, VA metro area
How the Charlottesville, 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 81 out of 100: High
Ranked #6 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 210
- 61 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 96
- +7.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $88.6M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $979 a household
- Spending per listing
- $422K
- 57% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 23.2
- 35% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 228,597
- +3.1% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville metro 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 Charlottesville metro area is 81 (high), #6 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for auto repair and car care businesses.
As of September 2026, map listings count 210 auto repair and car care businesses in the Charlottesville metro area. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 23.2 for every 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Households in the Charlottesville metro area spend about $88.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $979 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That works out to $422K per business, 57% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Charlottesville metro area was 96 in 2023, up 7.0% from 2019. That is one for every 942 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $2.3M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Charlottesville metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Charlottesville metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Charlottesville 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.
| Measure | Charlottesville metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 23.2 | 31.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $422K | $307K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 942 | 685 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.0% | +4.4% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $979 | $968 | $958 |
| Median household income | $93,598 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 81 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 96+7.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 685
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $34M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 121Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 21061 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 330The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $2.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 228,597+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 90,452
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,644 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 136
- Median household income
- $93,598+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $130,972
- Median home value
- $430,300
- Jobs located here
- 108,968
- Daytime population
- 237,767Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville metro 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 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 Charlottesville metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Charlottesville, VA | 81 | 210 | 23.2 | $422K | +3.1% | #6 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 75 | 5,964 | 25.1 | $359K | +3.3% | #25 of 387 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 58 | 462 | 35.3 | $265K | +2.3% | #138 of 387 |
| 2Richmond, VA | 56 | 1,823 | 34.2 | $283K | +5.5% | #154 of 387 |
| 3Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 53 | 2,182 | 30.8 | $296K | +0.9% | #178 of 387 |
| 4Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 53 | 182 | 34.8 | $277K | +3.2% | #182 of 387 |
| 5Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 52 | 216 | 30.7 | $307K | −0.1% | #189 of 387 |
| 6Lynchburg, VA | 46 | 387 | 37.4 | $265K | +2.9% | #235 of 387 |
| 7Winchester, VA-WV | 39 | 258 | 46.5 | $222K | +6.5% | #285 of 387 |
| 8Harrisonburg, VA | 32 | 236 | 47.2 | $222K | +3.5% | #322 of 387 |
Other business types in the Charlottesville metro 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 care81
- Auto repair shops80
- Collision repair and body shops80
- Car washes and detailing63
- Tire shops76
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations72
- Insurance agencies83
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 Charlottesville, VA metro area?
The Charlottesville metro area has 210 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 61 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 96 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 7.0% from 2019. Official counts list 121 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Charlottesville, VA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $88.6M a year, or $979 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 210 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $422K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 90,452 households in the Charlottesville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Charlottesville, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Charlottesville metro area has 23.2 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $422K, 57% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Charlottesville metro area would have about 330, against 210 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 942 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Charlottesville, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Charlottesville metro area at 228,597 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,452 households. Median household income in the Charlottesville metro area is $93,598, 16% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.8%, 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 Charlottesville metro area scores 81 for auto repair and car care businesses (high), #6 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 Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville 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.