Auto · Metro area · West Virginia
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Charleston, WV metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair and car care businesses in the Charleston, WV metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 16 out of 100: Low
Ranked #378 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia
- Listings
- 350
- 100 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 124
- +10.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $66.6M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $762 a household
- Spending per listing
- $190K
- 29% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 40.1
- 12% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 200,170
- −4.7% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Charleston 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 Charleston 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
For auto repair and car care businesses, the Charleston metro area has a Groundwork market score of 16 (low): #378 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 350 auto repair and car care businesses in the Charleston metro area. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 40.1, 12% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Charleston metro area comes to about $66.6M a year: $762 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. That is about $190K of household spending for each business on map listings, 29% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
In 2023, official counts showed 124 businesses with payroll in the Charleston metro area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, up 10.1% from 2019. That is one for every 705 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $100K have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Charleston metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Charleston metro area declined 4.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Charleston metro 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 | Charleston metro area | West Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 40.1 | 35.4 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $190K | $235K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 705 | 781 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +10.1% | +3.1% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $762 | $833 | $958 |
| Median household income | $60,117 | $59,608 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 16 | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 124+10.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 710
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $27.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 119Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 350100 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 248The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $100K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Charleston 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 Charleston metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 200,170−4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 87,358
- Median age
- 43.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 1,746 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 118
- Median household income
- $60,117
- Average household income
- $81,990
- Median home value
- $141,100
- Jobs located here
- 110,278
- Daytime population
- 231,110Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Charleston 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 Charleston 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 West Virginia
Every West Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas 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 Charleston metro area marked.
Top metro areas in West Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 75 | 5,964 | 25.1 | $359K | +3.3% | #25 of 387 |
| 1Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH | 54 | 149 | 30.0 | $294K | −3.6% | #171 of 387 |
| Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV | 53 | 468 | 39.6 | $242K | +7.1% | #185 of 387 |
| 2Morgantown, WV | 45 | 197 | 34.3 | $244K | +1.3% | #242 of 387 |
| 3Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 43 | 519 | 34.1 | $255K | −2.6% | #253 of 387 |
| 4Wheeling, WV-OH | 39 | 201 | 34.6 | $255K | −3.6% | #279 of 387 |
| Winchester, VA-WV | 39 | 258 | 46.5 | $222K | +6.5% | #285 of 387 |
| 5Beckley, WV | 24 | 163 | 36.3 | $221K | −4.3% | #352 of 387 |
| 6Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 17 | 154 | 40.7 | $197K | −2.3% | #373 of 387 |
| 7Charleston, WV | 16 | 350 | 40.1 | $190K | −4.7% | #378 of 387 |
Other business types in the Charleston 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 care16
- Auto repair shops19
- Collision repair and body shops20
- Car washes and detailing9
- Tire shops21
- Oil change and quick lube10
- Gas stations14
- Insurance agencies40
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 Charleston, WV metro area?
There are 350 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Charleston metro area as of September 2026. 100 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 124 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 10.1% from 2019. Official counts also show 119 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Charleston, WV metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $66.6M a year, or $762 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 350 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $190K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 87,358 households in the Charleston metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Charleston, WV metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Charleston metro area has 40.1 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $190K, 29% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Charleston metro area would have about 248, against 350 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 705 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Charleston, WV metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Charleston metro area at 200,170 people in 2025, down 4.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 87,358 households. Median household income in the Charleston metro area is $60,117, 26% 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. 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 Charleston metro area scores 16 for auto repair and car care businesses (low), #378 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 Charleston 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 Charleston metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charleston 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 Charleston 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.