Auto · Metro area · Virginia
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Richmond, VA metro area
How the Richmond, 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 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #154 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 1,823
- 560 chain locations (31%)
- Official establishments
- 824
- +7.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $516.4M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $968 a household
- Spending per listing
- $283K
- 5% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 34.2
- 4% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,389,338
- +5.5% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Richmond 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 Richmond 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
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Richmond metro area comes to about $516.4M a year: $968 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 1,823 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $283K per business, 5% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
The Richmond metro area has 1,823 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 560 of them (31%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That is 34.2 per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 824 businesses with payroll in the Richmond metro area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, up 7.8% from 2019. That is one for every 647 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Official counts also show 1,217 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 25 SBA-backed loans worth $16.9M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Richmond metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Richmond metro area grew 5.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Richmond metro area is 56 (upper middle), #154 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Richmond 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 | Richmond metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 34.2 | 31.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $283K | $307K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 647 | 685 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.8% | +4.4% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.5% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $968 | $968 | $958 |
| Median household income | $86,679 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 824+7.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,696
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $289.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,217Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,823560 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,923The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 25
- Amount
- $16.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Richmond 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 Richmond metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,389,338+5.5% since 2020
- Households
- 533,430
- Median age
- 40.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 4,368 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 307
- Median household income
- $86,679+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $117,479
- Median home value
- $353,500
- Jobs located here
- 693,750
- Daytime population
- 1,389,666Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Richmond 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 Richmond 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 Richmond 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 Richmond 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 care56
- Auto repair shops55
- Collision repair and body shops74
- Car washes and detailing67
- Tire shops55
- Oil change and quick lube56
- Gas stations66
- Insurance agencies68
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 Richmond, VA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,823 auto repair and car care businesses in the Richmond metro area. 560 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 824 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 7.8% from 2019. Another 1,217 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Richmond, VA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $516.4M a year, or $968 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,823 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $283K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 533,430 households in the Richmond metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Richmond, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Richmond metro area has 34.2 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $283K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Richmond metro area would have about 1,923, against 1,823 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 647 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Richmond, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Richmond metro area at 1,389,338 people in 2025, up 5.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 533,430 households. The median household income in the Richmond metro area is $86,679 a year, 7% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Richmond metro area scores 56 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #154 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 Richmond 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 Richmond metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Richmond 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 Richmond 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.