Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Indiana

Auto repair shops in the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area

How the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #153 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana

Listings
87
21 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
50
+4.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$47.5M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,088 a household
Spending per listing
$546K
23% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
19.9
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
111,294
−0.9% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area comes to about $47.5M a year: $1,088 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. That works out to $546K per shop, 23% above the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

There are 87 auto repair shops on map listings in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area as of September 2026. 21 of them (24%) are chain locations, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 19.9, 7% below the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area in 2023, up 4.2% from 2019. That is one for every 873 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Official counts list 62 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $336K have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for auto repair shops in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area is 55 (upper middle), #153 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana.

How the Michigan City-La Porte metro area compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureMichigan City-La Porte metro areaIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households19.921.321.5
Spending per listing$546K$504K$445K
Households per official establishment873928955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.2%+0.4%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.9%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,088$1,072$958
Median household income$71,055$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score5564

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
50+4.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
282
Annual payroll, 2023
$14.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
62Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8721 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
107The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$336K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
111,294−0.9% since 2020
Households
43,633
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
187
Median household income
$71,055+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,682
Median home value
$195,500
Jobs located here
39,820
Daytime population
107,276Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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 Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Indiana for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Indiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Michigan City-La Porte metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Indiana

Metro areas in Indiana ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Columbus, IN797422.2$524K+4.3%#16 of 387
2Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN771,66719.8$540K+5.4%#24 of 387
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN741,67618.5$569K+2.7%#35 of 387
3Bloomington, IN7210515.5$636K+2.0%#47 of 387
4Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN6717719.5$524K+2.1%#73 of 387
5Evansville, IN6123820.9$498K+1.6%#105 of 387
6South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI5925319.7$511K+0.1%#115 of 387
7Muncie, IN5910021.6$457K+1.2%#119 of 387
8Fort Wayne, IN5837520.6$507K+3.9%#127 of 387
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN561,10419.8$466K+2.9%#150 of 387
9Michigan City-La Porte, IN558719.9$546K−0.9%#153 of 387

Other business types in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 87 auto repair shops in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area. 21 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 4.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 62 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $47.5M a year, or $1,088 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 87 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $546K 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 43,633 households in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Michigan City-La Porte metro area has 19.9 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $546K, 23% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Michigan City-La Porte metro area would have about 107, against 87 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 873 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Michigan City-La Porte metro area at 111,294 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 43,633 households. Median household income in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area is $71,055, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.4%, 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. The Michigan City-La Porte metro area scores 55 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #153 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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.