Auto · Metro area · Iowa
Auto repair shops in the Ames, IA metro area
How the Ames, IA 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 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #97 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 107
- 14 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 54
- −5.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $55.6M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,116 a household
- Spending per listing
- $520K
- 17% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.5
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the auto repair shops around any address in the Ames 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 Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 Ames metro area comes to about $55.6M a year: $1,116 per household, 16% above the U.S. average. That works out to $520K per shop, 17% above the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.
There are 107 auto repair shops on map listings in the Ames metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 16% across the U.S. That is 21.5 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 21.5.
Official counts show 54 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Ames metro area in 2023, down 5.3% from 2019. That is one for every 923 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Official counts also show 71 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $425K have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Ames metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Ames metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair shops in the Ames metro area is 62 (upper middle), #97 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Ames metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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.
| Measure | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 21.5 | 24.1 | 21.5 |
| Spending per listing | $520K | $470K | $445K |
| Households per official establishment | 923 | 766 | 955 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −5.3% | −1.3% | +2.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,116 | $1,134 | $958 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 54−5.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 216
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $11.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 71Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10714 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 125The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $425K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Ames 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 Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames 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 Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardAuto repair shops across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 79 | 594 | 20.1 | $558K | +6.7% | #15 of 387 |
| 2Iowa City, IA | 71 | 136 | 18.8 | $553K | +4.1% | #50 of 387 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 70 | 771 | 19.8 | $558K | +4.2% | #53 of 387 |
| 3Ames, IA | 62 | 107 | 21.5 | $520K | +2.2% | #97 of 387 |
| 4Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 58 | 139 | 20.0 | $551K | +0.5% | #125 of 387 |
| 5Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 53 | 126 | 22.7 | $507K | +1.0% | #175 of 387 |
| 6Cedar Rapids, IA | 52 | 258 | 22.6 | $498K | +1.0% | #186 of 387 |
| 7Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 51 | 343 | 21.2 | $488K | −0.9% | #194 of 387 |
| 8Dubuque, IA | 37 | 100 | 24.4 | $443K | +0.1% | #288 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ames metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many auto repair shops are in the Ames, IA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 107 auto repair shops in the Ames metro area. 14 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 54 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, down 5.3% from 2019. Another 71 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $55.6M a year, or $1,116 per household. That is 16% above the U.S. average (an index of 116, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 107 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $520K 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 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?
The Ames metro area has 21.5 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $520K, 17% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 125, against 107 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 923 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Ames metro area scores 62 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #97 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 Ames 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 Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames 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 Ames 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.