Groundwork

Auto · County · Alabama

Auto repair shops in Dale County, AL

How Dale County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #1,072 of 2,378 scored counties
#24 of 60 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
44
6 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$17.9M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $910 a household
Spending per listing
$408K
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.3
4% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,912
+1.3% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in Dale County

The site report maps the auto repair shops 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 Dale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Dale County comes to about $17.9M a year: $910 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $408K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 8% below the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

There are 44 auto repair shops on map listings in Dale County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 22.3 for every 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Dale County was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 6,576 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 54 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Dale County grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Dale County scores 53 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #1,072 of 2,378 scored counties and #24 of 60 scored counties in Alabama.

How Dale County compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the auto repair shops 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 shops in Dale County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureDale CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.321.121.5
Spending per listing$408K$440K$445K
Households per official establishment6,5761,150955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.6%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$910$929$958
Median household income$54,963$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score5355

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 3
Employees, 2023
38
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
54Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
446 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
40The 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 mechanical, body and glass repair in Dale County, 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 Dale County

Population, 2025 estimate
49,912+1.3% since 2020
Households
19,727
Median age
40.1
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
561 sq. mi.
People per square mile
88
Median household income
$54,963+16.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,266
Median home value
$143,500
Jobs located here
15,272
Daytime population
47,928Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dale County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the auto repair shops on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Dale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Auto repair shops across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Dale County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Limestone County, AL847117.3$613K+18.0%#63 of 2,378
2Cherokee County, AL801716.7$597K+5.8%#119 of 2,378
3Winston County, AL791313.8$763K+1.4%#129 of 2,378
4Henry County, AL7679.9$916K+7.1%#183 of 2,378
5Baldwin County, AL7316817.0$568K+14.8%#268 of 2,378
6Lee County, AL7311817.0$554K+8.6%#270 of 2,378
7Elmore County, AL726118.6$555K+4.2%#294 of 2,378
8Madison County, AL7129918.1$527K+11.0%#320 of 2,378
9Cleburne County, AL701220.1$512K+6.0%#352 of 2,378
10Shelby County, AL6918020.7$512K+6.5%#385 of 2,378
24Dale County, AL534422.3$408K+1.3%#1,072 of 2,378

Other business types in Dale County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in Dale County, AL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 44 auto repair shops in Dale County. 6 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023. Official counts list 54 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Dale County, AL spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $17.9M a year, or $910 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 44 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $408K per shop. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which auto repair shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,727 households in Dale County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Dale County, AL compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

Dale County has 22.3 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $408K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, Dale County would have about 40, against 44 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,576 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S.

How fast is Dale County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Dale County at 49,912 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,727 households. Median household income in Dale County is $54,963, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.4%, 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. Dale County scores 53 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #1,072 of 2,378 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dale County. It maps the auto repair shops 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 shops · All 56 business types in Dale County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dale County?

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 Dale County. 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.