Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Washington

Auto repair and car care businesses in the Port Townsend, WA area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair and car care businesses in the Port Townsend, WA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 88 out of 100: High

Ranked #5 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington

Listings
28
8 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$17.8M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,086 a household
Spending per listing
$634K
2.4 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.1
52% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
33,970
+2.7% since 2020

See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend 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

The Port Townsend area scores 88 (high) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #5 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for auto repair and car care businesses.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Port Townsend area comes to about $17.8M a year: $1,086 per household, 13% above the U.S. average. That works out to $634K per business, 2.4 times the U.S. figure of $269K.

There are 28 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Port Townsend area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That comes to 17.1 for every 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 35.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 11 businesses with payroll in the Port Townsend area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers. That is one for every 1,485 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $2.5M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Port Townsend area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Port Townsend area grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Port Townsend area compares

The same measures for Washington 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 Port Townsend, WA area compared with Washington and the U.S.
MeasurePort Townsend areaWashingtonU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.127.935.7
Spending per listing$634K$396K$269K
Households per official establishment1,485767681
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.6%+4.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.7%+3.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,086$1,104$958
Median household income$74,048$98,141$80,734
Groundwork market score8884

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11
Employees, 2023
61
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
19Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
288 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
66The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$2.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend area

Population, 2025 estimate
33,970+2.7% since 2020
Households
16,340
Median age
58.3
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,804 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$74,048
Average household income
$104,756
Median home value
$535,000
Jobs located here
8,967
Daytime population
30,032Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend 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 Washington

Every Washington market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Washington for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Washington, with the Port Townsend area marked.

Top small-town markets in Washington

Small-town markets in Washington ranked for auto repair and car care businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Shelton, WA966525.0$514K+7.8%#1 of 538
2Port Townsend, WA882817.1$634K+2.7%#5 of 538
3Ellensburg, WA886331.5$377K+4.2%#7 of 538
4Aberdeen, WA838427.4$400K+3.0%#12 of 538
5Oak Harbor, WA816718.6$630K−1.5%#19 of 538
6Pullman, WA784121.9$439K+1.5%#30 of 538
7Moses Lake, WA7814240.1$300K+6.3%#31 of 538
8Port Angeles, WA749326.5$399K+1.1%#47 of 538
9Centralia, WA7214544.1$277K+6.7%#70 of 538
10Othello, WA672641.3$303K+4.3%#106 of 538

Other business types in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend, WA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 28 auto repair and car care businesses in the Port Townsend area. 8 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 11 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023. Another 19 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Port Townsend, WA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $17.8M a year, or $1,086 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 28 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $634K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,340 households in the Port Townsend area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Port Townsend, WA area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?

The Port Townsend area has 17.1 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $634K, 2.4 times the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Port Townsend area would have about 66, against 28 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,485 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S.

How fast is the Port Townsend, WA area growing?

Population estimates put the Port Townsend area at 33,970 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,340 households. The median household income in the Port Townsend area is $74,048 a year, 8% 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. 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 Port Townsend area scores 88 for auto repair and car care businesses (high), #5 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 Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend 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.