Groundwork

Auto · County · Virginia

Auto repair and car care businesses in Norfolk city, VA

How Norfolk city, VA 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,652 of 2,401 scored counties
#81 of 115 scored counties in Virginia

Listings
271
81 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
105
−2.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$71.2M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $750 a household
Spending per listing
$263K
2% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
28.5
20% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
231,013
−2.9% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in Norfolk city

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 Norfolk city. 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 271 auto repair and car care businesses in Norfolk city. 81 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That is 28.5 per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Norfolk city comes to about $71.2M a year: $750 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Spread across 271 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $263K per business, 2% below the U.S. figure of $269K.

In 2023, official counts showed 105 businesses with payroll in Norfolk city classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, down 2.8% from 2019. That is one for every 904 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 172 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.4M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Norfolk city.

Population estimates put the population change in Norfolk city from 2020 to 2025 at −2.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Norfolk city scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #1,652 of 2,401 scored counties and #81 of 115 scored counties in Virginia.

How Norfolk city 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 Norfolk city, VA compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureNorfolk cityVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households28.531.535.7
Spending per listing$263K$307K$269K
Households per official establishment904685681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.8%+4.4%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.9%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$750$968$958
Median household income$66,109$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score4064

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
108 → 105−2.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
813
Annual payroll, 2023
$38.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
172Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
27181 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
265The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$1.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in Norfolk city, 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 Norfolk city

Population, 2025 estimate
231,013−2.9% since 2020
Households
94,965
Median age
35.1
Homes lived in by their owners
46%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
53 sq. mi.
People per square mile
4,385
Median household income
$66,109+28.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$91,610
Median home value
$289,900
Jobs located here
130,869
Daytime population
273,887Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Norfolk city?

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 Norfolk city. 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 counties in Virginia for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Virginia, with Norfolk city marked.

Top counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fluvanna County, VA941312.6$999K+6.2%#4 of 2,401
2Caroline County, VA902924.2$476K+11.3%#21 of 2,401
3Goochland County, VA873029.0$413K+17.4%#39 of 2,401
4Louisa County, VA874528.9$411K+13.6%#40 of 2,401
5James City County, VA864915.3$661K+6.2%#41 of 2,401
6Prince George County, VA852418.6$632K+2.0%#48 of 2,401
7Clarke County, VA851830.6$386K+5.4%#54 of 2,401
8New Kent County, VA832021.6$592K+21.2%#74 of 2,401
9Poquoson city, VA801021.2$547K+6.6%#113 of 2,401
10Nelson County, VA801320.4$518K+1.2%#114 of 2,401
81Norfolk city, VA4027128.5$263K−2.9%#1,652 of 2,401

Other business types in Norfolk city

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 Norfolk city, VA?

There are 271 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in Norfolk city as of September 2026. 81 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 105 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, down 2.8% from 2019. Official counts list 172 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Norfolk city, VA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $71.2M a year, or $750 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 271 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $263K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 94,965 households in Norfolk city and national spending patterns by income.

How does Norfolk city, VA compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

Norfolk city has 28.5 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $263K, 2% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, Norfolk city would have about 265, against 271 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 904 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Norfolk city, VA growing?

Population estimates put Norfolk city at 231,013 people in 2025, down 2.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 94,965 households. Median household income in Norfolk city is $66,109, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.1%, 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. Norfolk city scores 40 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #1,652 of 2,401 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Norfolk city. 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 Norfolk city

Screening a site or an acquisition in Norfolk city?

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 Norfolk city. 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.