Auto · Small-town market · Wisconsin
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Rice Lake, WI area
How the Rice Lake, WI 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 36 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #410 of 538 scored small-town markets
#13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 108
- 20 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 46
- +18.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $22.9M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,146 a household
- Spending per listing
- $212K
- 21% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 54.1
- 52% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 46,484
- −0.5% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake area scores 36 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses, ranking #410 of 538 scored small-town markets and #13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 108 auto repair and car care businesses in the Rice Lake area. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 24% across the U.S. That is 54.1 per 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Rice Lake area comes to about $22.9M a year: $1,146 per household, 20% above the U.S. average. That works out to $212K per business, 21% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Rice Lake area in 2023, up 18.0% from 2019. That is one for every 434 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Rice Lake area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Rice Lake area declined 0.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Rice Lake 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 | Rice Lake area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 54.1 | 34.5 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $212K | $307K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 434 | 706 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +18.0% | +1.2% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.5% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,146 | $1,061 | $958 |
| Median household income | $65,933 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 36 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46+18.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 174
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 75Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10820 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 85The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 46,484−0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 19,955
- Median age
- 45.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 863 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 54
- Median household income
- $65,933
- Average household income
- $87,099
- Median home value
- $216,600
- Jobs located here
- 20,886
- Daytime population
- 44,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake 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 small-town markets in Wisconsin for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in Wisconsin, with the Rice Lake area marked.
Top small-town markets in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Shawano, WI | 83 | 62 | 33.2 | $341K | +1.4% | #13 of 538 |
| 2Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI | 82 | 135 | 31.3 | $379K | +0.8% | #16 of 538 |
| 3Stevens Point-Plover, WI | 81 | 87 | 29.3 | $388K | +2.2% | #20 of 538 |
| 4Menomonie, WI | 77 | 65 | 37.3 | $316K | +1.7% | #34 of 538 |
| 5Sparta, WI | 76 | 66 | 36.1 | $305K | +0.6% | #41 of 538 |
| 6Manitowoc, WI | 70 | 121 | 34.4 | $316K | +0.4% | #81 of 538 |
| 7Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI | 69 | 142 | 40.7 | $277K | +0.3% | #90 of 538 |
| 8Baraboo, WI | 69 | 116 | 41.4 | $273K | +1.3% | #91 of 538 |
| 9Beaver Dam, WI | 68 | 140 | 39.0 | $288K | −0.3% | #100 of 538 |
| 10Marinette, WI-MI | 62 | 113 | 38.4 | $278K | +0.3% | #161 of 538 |
| 13Rice Lake, WI | 36 | 108 | 54.1 | $212K | −0.5% | #410 of 538 |
Other business types in the Rice Lake 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 care36
- Auto repair shops34
- Collision repair and body shops37
- Car washes and detailing76
- Tire shops49
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations45
- Insurance agencies27
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 Rice Lake, WI area?
There are 108 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Rice Lake area as of September 2026. 20 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, up 18.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 75 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Rice Lake, WI area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $22.9M a year, or $1,146 per household. That is 20% above the U.S. average (an index of 120, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 108 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $212K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,955 households in the Rice Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Rice Lake, WI area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Rice Lake area has 54.1 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $212K, 21% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the national ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Rice Lake area would have about 85, against 108 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 434 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count rose 18.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Rice Lake, WI area growing?
Population estimates put the Rice Lake area at 46,484 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,955 households. Median household income in the Rice Lake area is $65,933, 18% 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 Rice Lake area scores 36 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #410 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 Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake 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.