Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Arkansas

Auto repair shops in the Searcy, AR area

How the Searcy, AR area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #478 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas

Listings
96
13 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
45
+25.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$25.7M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $868 a household
Spending per listing
$268K
40% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
32.4
51% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
80,085
+4.2% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Searcy area

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 the Searcy area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

The Searcy area scores 27 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #478 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 96 auto repair shops in the Searcy area. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 32.4 for every 10,000 households, 51% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Households in the Searcy area spend about $25.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $868 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That is about $268K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 40% below the U.S. figure of $445K. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which auto repair shops share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Searcy area was 45 in 2023, up 25.0% from 2019. That is one for every 658 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Searcy area grew 4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Searcy area compares

The same measures for Arkansas 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 Searcy, AR area compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureSearcy areaArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households32.422.921.5
Spending per listing$268K$387K$445K
Households per official establishment6581,089955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+25.0%+6.8%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.2%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$868$886$958
Median household income$55,249$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score2743

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
45+25.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
247
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
130Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9613 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
58The 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 the Searcy 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 Searcy area

Population, 2025 estimate
80,085+4.2% since 2020
Households
29,629
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,034 sq. mi.
People per square mile
75
Median household income
$55,249+25.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,679
Median home value
$163,600
Jobs located here
25,976
Daytime population
72,590Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Searcy 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 shops on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Auto repair shops across Arkansas

Every Arkansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arkansas for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Arkansas, with the Searcy area marked.

Top small-town markets in Arkansas

Small-town markets in Arkansas ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Malvern, AR572318.7$494K+1.1%#194 of 538
2Batesville, AR562718.4$494K+2.2%#203 of 538
3Paragould, AR553720.6$411K+3.4%#224 of 538
4Blytheville, AR532516.2$499K−6.7%#244 of 538
5Harrison, AR484624.8$384K+2.4%#305 of 538
6Russellville, AR429629.4$310K+1.6%#360 of 538
7Magnolia, AR392226.2$359K−3.7%#385 of 538
8Mountain Home, AR385025.8$327K+3.1%#395 of 538
9Camden, AR342423.3$371K−3.6%#426 of 538
10Pine Bluff, AR326925.6$323K−5.6%#451 of 538
12Searcy, AR279632.4$268K+4.2%#478 of 538

Other business types in the Searcy area

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the Searcy, AR area?

There are 96 auto repair shops on map listings in the Searcy area as of September 2026. 13 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 45 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 25.0% from 2019. Official counts list 130 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Searcy, AR area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $25.7M a year, or $868 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 96 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $268K per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 29,629 households in the Searcy area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Searcy, AR area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Searcy area has 32.4 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 51% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $268K, 40% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the national ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Searcy area would have about 58, against 96 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 658 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 25.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Searcy, AR area growing?

Population estimates put the Searcy area at 80,085 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 29,629 households. The median household income in the Searcy area is $55,249 a year, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. 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 Searcy area scores 27 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #478 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 Searcy area. 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 the Searcy area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Searcy 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 Searcy 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.