Auto · Metro area · Wisconsin
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Appleton, WI metro area
How the Appleton, WI 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 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #130 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 372
- 102 chain locations (27%)
- Official establishments
- 172
- +12.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $113.2M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,135 a household
- Spending per listing
- $304K
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 37.3
- 4% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 249,876
- +2.7% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 372 auto repair and car care businesses in the Appleton metro area. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 24% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 37.3, 4% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Appleton metro area comes to about $113.2M a year: $1,135 per household, 18% above the U.S. average. That is about $304K of household spending for each business on map listings, 13% above the U.S. figure of $269K.
Official counts show 172 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Appleton metro area in 2023, up 12.4% from 2019. That is one for every 580 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 188 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $8.5M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Appleton metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Appleton metro area grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Appleton metro area is 59 (upper middle), #130 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin.
How the Appleton metro area compares
The same measures for Wisconsin 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 | Appleton metro area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 37.3 | 34.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $304K | $307K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 580 | 706 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.4% | +1.2% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,135 | $1,061 | $958 |
| Median household income | $85,825 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 172+12.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,131
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $64.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 188Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 372102 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 421The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 8
- Amount
- $8.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Appleton 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 Appleton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 249,876+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 99,754
- Median age
- 40.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 956 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 257
- Median household income
- $85,825+26.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $112,747
- Median home value
- $268,900
- Jobs located here
- 130,221
- Daytime population
- 246,801Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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 Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Wisconsin for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Appleton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Madison, WI | 81 | 872 | 28.9 | $353K | +4.1% | #7 of 387 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 78 | 4,270 | 28.9 | $377K | +2.6% | #18 of 387 |
| 2Kenosha, WI | 72 | 233 | 33.8 | $324K | −0.4% | #43 of 387 |
| 3Green Bay, WI | 69 | 477 | 35.0 | $313K | +2.5% | #61 of 387 |
| 4La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 63 | 239 | 33.2 | $318K | +0.4% | #94 of 387 |
| 5Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 62 | 241 | 33.2 | $313K | +1.4% | #102 of 387 |
| 6Wausau, WI | 61 | 193 | 33.4 | $338K | +1.0% | #110 of 387 |
| 7Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 61 | 2,030 | 30.9 | $311K | 0.0% | #111 of 387 |
| 8Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 61 | 276 | 34.3 | $309K | +0.4% | #112 of 387 |
| 9Appleton, WI | 59 | 372 | 37.3 | $304K | +2.7% | #130 of 387 |
Other business types in the Appleton 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 care59
- Auto repair shops57
- Collision repair and body shops44
- Car washes and detailing62
- Tire shops84
- Oil change and quick lube53
- Gas stations57
- Insurance agencies26
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 Appleton, WI metro area?
There are 372 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Appleton metro area as of September 2026. 102 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 172 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 12.4% from 2019. Official counts list 188 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Appleton, WI metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $113.2M a year, or $1,135 per household. That is 18% above the U.S. average (an index of 118, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 372 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $304K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 99,754 households in the Appleton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Appleton, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Appleton metro area has 37.3 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $304K, 13% above the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Appleton metro area would have about 421, against 372 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 580 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Appleton, WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Appleton metro area at 249,876 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 99,754 households. Median household income in the Appleton metro area is $85,825, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.9%, 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 Appleton metro area scores 59 for auto repair and car care businesses (upper middle), #130 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 Appleton 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 Appleton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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.