Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · California

Auto repair shops in the Modesto, CA metro area

The auto repair shops in the Modesto, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #283 of 387 scored metro areas
#21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
521
67 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
241
+14.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$210.7M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,185 a household
Spending per listing
$405K
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.3
36% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
557,719
+0.7% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Modesto metro 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 Modesto metro 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

Households in the Modesto metro area spend about $210.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,185 per household, 24% above the U.S. average. Spread across 521 auto repair shops, that is $405K per shop, 9% below the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

The Modesto metro area has 521 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 29.3 for every 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Official counts show 241 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Modesto metro area in 2023, up 14.2% from 2019. That is one for every 738 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 447 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 19 SBA-backed loans worth $10.6M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Modesto metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Modesto metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Modesto metro area scores 39 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #283 of 387 scored metro areas and #21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the Modesto metro area compares

The same measures for California 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 Modesto, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureModesto metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.324.721.5
Spending per listing$405K$455K$445K
Households per official establishment738861955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+14.2%+2.1%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.7%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,185$1,122$958
Median household income$81,468$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score3942

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
241+14.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,161
Annual payroll, 2023
$61.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
447Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
52167 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
474The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
19
Amount
$10.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Modesto 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 Modesto metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
557,719+0.7% since 2020
Households
177,874
Median age
35.4
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,496 sq. mi.
People per square mile
370
Median household income
$81,468+34.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$105,867
Median home value
$450,100
Jobs located here
196,740
Daytime population
519,901Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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

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Auto repair shops across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in California, with the Modesto metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Merced, CA7818020.9$531K+5.1%#20 of 387
2Napa, CA688116.3$743K−3.3%#61 of 387
3Vallejo, CA6436022.9$539K+0.6%#88 of 387
4Stockton-Lodi, CA6361725.2$485K+5.5%#92 of 387
5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA621,49622.0$552K−0.6%#95 of 387
6San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA6124522.4$535K0.0%#104 of 387
7Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA5820220.8$590K−4.7%#123 of 387
8Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA582,06823.4$479K+3.2%#130 of 387
9Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA5740521.2$557K−0.4%#136 of 387
10Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA544,02427.7$444K+3.5%#169 of 387
21Modesto, CA3952129.3$405K+0.7%#283 of 387

Other business types in the Modesto metro area

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the Modesto, CA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 521 auto repair shops in the Modesto metro area. 67 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 241 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 14.2% from 2019. Official counts list 447 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Modesto, CA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $210.7M a year, or $1,185 per household. That is 24% above the U.S. average (an index of 124, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 521 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $405K 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 177,874 households in the Modesto metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Modesto, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Modesto metro area has 29.3 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $405K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Modesto metro area would have about 474, against 521 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 738 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Modesto, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Modesto metro area at 557,719 people in 2025, up 0.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 177,874 households. Median household income in the Modesto metro area is $81,468, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 34.2%, 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 Modesto metro area scores 39 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #283 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 Modesto metro 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 Modesto metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Modesto 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 Modesto 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.