Groundwork

Auto · County · Iowa

Auto repair shops in Decatur County, IA

How Decatur County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
11
1 chain location (9%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$3.6M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,164 a household
Spending per listing
$323K
27% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
36.0
67% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,655
−0.9% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in Decatur County

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 Decatur County. 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 Decatur County comes to about $3.6M a year: $1,164 per household, 21% above the U.S. average. That works out to $323K per shop, 27% below the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

There are 11 auto repair shops on map listings in Decatur County as of September 2026. One of them (9%) is a chain location, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 36.0 for every 10,000 households, 67% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for mechanical, body and glass repair in Decatur County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Decatur County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Decatur County 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.

Auto repair shops in Decatur County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureDecatur CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households36.024.121.5
Spending per listing$323K$470K$445K
Households per official establishmentn/a766955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−1.3%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.9%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,164$1,134$958
Median household income$59,044$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored46

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
8Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
111 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The 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 Decatur County, 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 Decatur County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,655−0.9% since 2020
Households
3,055
Median age
36.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
532 sq. mi.
People per square mile
15
Median household income
$59,044
Average household income
$74,390
Median home value
$113,900
Jobs located here
2,070
Daytime population
6,526Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Decatur County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Decatur County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Auto repair shops across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Decatur County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Dallas County, IA955312.5$964K+17.8%#5 of 2,378
2Tama County, IA781116.4$738K−1.5%#150 of 2,378
3Johnson County, IA7510015.8$647K+4.6%#211 of 2,378
4Buchanan County, IA721821.8$577K+1.3%#290 of 2,378
5Marion County, IA712821.0$603K+2.3%#309 of 2,378
6Polk County, IA7040419.7$549K+4.8%#347 of 2,378
7Buena Vista County, IA691519.9$597K−1.7%#372 of 2,378
8Grundy County, IA691325.4$499K+0.2%#389 of 2,378
9Bremer County, IA681919.6$626K+1.1%#412 of 2,378
10Story County, IA667820.0$537K+2.7%#495 of 2,378
Decatur County, IANot scored1136.0$323K−0.9%

Other business types in Decatur County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in Decatur County, IA?

As of September 2026, map listings count 11 auto repair shops in Decatur County. One of them (9%) is a chain location. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. No official count is published for mechanical, body and glass repair in Decatur County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Decatur County, IA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $3.6M a year, or $1,164 per household. That is 21% above the U.S. average (an index of 121, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $323K 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 3,055 households in Decatur County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Decatur County, IA compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

Decatur County has 36.0 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 67% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $323K, 27% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, Decatur County would have about 8, against 11 on map listings.

How fast is Decatur County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Decatur County at 7,655 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,055 households. Median household income in Decatur County is $59,044, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Decatur County. 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 Decatur County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Decatur County?

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 Decatur County. 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.