Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Georgia

Auto repair shops in the Waycross, GA area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for auto repair shops in the Waycross, GA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #452 of 538 scored small-town markets
#20 of 23 scored small-town markets based in Georgia

Listings
52
6 chain locations (12%)
Official establishments
24
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$16.1M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $781 a household
Spending per listing
$309K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
25.3
18% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
57,670
+3.0% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Waycross 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 Waycross 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

For auto repair shops, the Waycross area has a Groundwork market score of 32 (lower middle): #452 of 538 scored small-town markets and #20 of 23 scored small-town markets based in Georgia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

At $781 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Waycross area spend about $16.1M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 52 auto repair shops, that is $309K per shop, 31% below the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

The Waycross area has 52 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 12% of them, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 25.3, 18% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

In 2023, official counts showed 24 businesses with payroll in the Waycross area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair. That is one for every 857 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Waycross area grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Waycross area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Waycross, GA area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureWaycross areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households25.323.121.5
Spending per listing$309K$399K$445K
Households per official establishment8571,082955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.7%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$781$923$958
Median household income$51,821$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score3251

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
24
Employees, 2023
140
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
64Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
526 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
36The 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 Waycross 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 Waycross area

Population, 2025 estimate
57,670+3.0% since 2020
Households
20,562
Median age
38.6
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,240 sq. mi.
People per square mile
45
Median household income
$51,821+34.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$70,222
Median home value
$126,600
Jobs located here
19,660
Daytime population
54,001Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Waycross 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 Waycross area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Auto repair shops across Georgia

Every Georgia market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Georgia for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Georgia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Waycross area marked.

Top small-town markets in Georgia

Small-town markets in Georgia ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kingsland, GA783616.6$548K+9.5%#26 of 538
2Summerville, GA671718.6$478K+1.5%#96 of 538
3Jefferson, GA657727.1$417K+29.3%#115 of 538
4Thomaston, GA621817.0$509K+2.7%#143 of 538
Eufaula, AL-GA60109.8$829K−1.2%#163 of 538
5Cedartown, GA604226.4$359K+6.0%#174 of 538
6Calhoun, GA585726.7$362K+6.9%#189 of 538
7Statesboro, GA577521.5$413K+8.0%#200 of 538
8Cornelia, GA544325.7$385K+9.3%#238 of 538
9Toccoa, GA543129.5$329K+3.8%#243 of 538
20Waycross, GA325225.3$309K+3.0%#452 of 538

Other business types in the Waycross area

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the Waycross, GA area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 52 auto repair shops in the Waycross area. 6 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023. Official counts also show 64 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Waycross, GA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $16.1M a year, or $781 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 52 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $309K 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 20,562 households in the Waycross area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Waycross, GA area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Waycross area has 25.3 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $309K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Waycross area would have about 36, against 52 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 857 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S.

How fast is the Waycross, GA area growing?

Population estimates put the Waycross area at 57,670 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 20,562 households. Median household income in the Waycross area is $51,821, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 34.7%, 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 Waycross area scores 32 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #452 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 Waycross 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 Waycross area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waycross 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 Waycross 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.