Auto · Small-town market · West Virginia
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Bluefield, WV-VA area
How the Bluefield, WV-VA area compares with other small-town markets 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 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #485 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia
- Listings
- 169
- 41 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 64
- +1.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $34.2M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $844 a household
- Spending per listing
- $202K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 41.7
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 96,138
- −3.8% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield 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 Bluefield area is 25 (lower middle), #485 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Bluefield area comes to about $34.2M a year: $844 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That is about $202K of household spending for each business on map listings, 25% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
There are 169 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Bluefield area as of September 2026. Of those, 41 are chain locations, or 24%, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 41.7, 17% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Bluefield area was 64 in 2023, up 1.6% from 2019. That is one for every 633 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bluefield area declined 3.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Bluefield area compares
The same measures for West 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 | Bluefield area | West Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 41.7 | 35.4 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $202K | $235K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 633 | 781 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +1.6% | +3.1% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.8% | −1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $844 | $833 | $958 |
| Median household income | $50,550 | $59,608 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 64+1.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 367
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $17.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 125Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16941 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 127The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 96,138−3.8% since 2020
- Households
- 40,514
- Median age
- 44.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 938 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 105
- Median household income
- $50,550
- Average household income
- $70,787
- Median home value
- $120,000
- Jobs located here
- 33,948
- Daytime population
- 95,290Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield 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 West Virginia
Every West Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in West Virginia for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Bluefield area marked.
Top small-town markets in West Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland, MD-WV | 47 | 128 | 33.2 | $251K | −1.3% | #300 of 538 |
| 1Fairmont, WV | 39 | 76 | 32.6 | $253K | −1.2% | #385 of 538 |
| 2Elkins, WV | 25 | 42 | 39.3 | $208K | −3.6% | #484 of 538 |
| 3Bluefield, WV-VA | 25 | 169 | 41.7 | $202K | −3.8% | #485 of 538 |
| 4Clarksburg, WV | 19 | 159 | 44.8 | $182K | −2.4% | #512 of 538 |
Other business types in the Bluefield 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 care25
- Auto repair shops27
- Collision repair and body shops54
- Car washes and detailing27
- Tire shops35
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations30
- Insurance agencies53
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 Bluefield, WV-VA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 169 auto repair and car care businesses in the Bluefield area. 41 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 64 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 1.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 125 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bluefield, WV-VA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $34.2M a year, or $844 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 169 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $202K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 40,514 households in the Bluefield area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bluefield, WV-VA area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Bluefield area has 41.7 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $202K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Bluefield area would have about 127, against 169 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 633 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Bluefield, WV-VA area growing?
Population estimates put the Bluefield area at 96,138 people in 2025, down 3.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 40,514 households. The median household income in the Bluefield area is $50,550 a year, 37% 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 Bluefield area scores 25 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #485 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 Bluefield 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 Bluefield area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield 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.