Auto · County · Iowa
Auto repair shops in Palo Alto County, IA
The auto repair shops in Palo Alto County, IA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 9
- 1 chain location (11%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4.4M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,168 a household
- Spending per listing
- $491K
- 10% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 23.8
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 8,899
- −1.0% since 2020
See the auto repair shops around any address in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County. 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
At $1,168 per household (22% above the U.S. average), households in Palo Alto County spend about $4.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $491K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 10% above the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.
Palo Alto County has 9 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (11%) is a chain location, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 23.8, 11% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Palo Alto County in 2023. That is one for every 1,261 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Official counts also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $200K has gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Palo Alto County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Palo Alto County declined 1.0%, 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 Palo Alto 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.
| Measure | Palo Alto County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 23.8 | 24.1 | 21.5 |
| Spending per listing | $491K | $470K | $445K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,261 | 766 | 955 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.3% | +2.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,168 | $1,134 | $958 |
| Median household income | $72,781 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 9
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $392K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 91 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 10The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $200K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 8,899−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 3,782
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 564 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 16
- Median household income
- $72,781
- Average household income
- $89,684
- Median home value
- $123,200
- Jobs located here
- 3,528
- Daytime population
- 8,293Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County. 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 counties in Iowa for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Palo Alto County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dallas County, IA | 95 | 53 | 12.5 | $964K | +17.8% | #5 of 2,378 |
| 2Tama County, IA | 78 | 11 | 16.4 | $738K | −1.5% | #150 of 2,378 |
| 3Johnson County, IA | 75 | 100 | 15.8 | $647K | +4.6% | #211 of 2,378 |
| 4Buchanan County, IA | 72 | 18 | 21.8 | $577K | +1.3% | #290 of 2,378 |
| 5Marion County, IA | 71 | 28 | 21.0 | $603K | +2.3% | #309 of 2,378 |
| 6Polk County, IA | 70 | 404 | 19.7 | $549K | +4.8% | #347 of 2,378 |
| 7Buena Vista County, IA | 69 | 15 | 19.9 | $597K | −1.7% | #372 of 2,378 |
| 8Grundy County, IA | 69 | 13 | 25.4 | $499K | +0.2% | #389 of 2,378 |
| 9Bremer County, IA | 68 | 19 | 19.6 | $626K | +1.1% | #412 of 2,378 |
| 10Story County, IA | 66 | 78 | 20.0 | $537K | +2.7% | #495 of 2,378 |
| Palo Alto County, IA | Not scored | 9 | 23.8 | $491K | −1.0% |
Other business types in Palo Alto County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
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 Palo Alto County, IA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 9 auto repair shops in Palo Alto County. One of them (11%) is a chain location. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023. Another 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Palo Alto County, IA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $4.4M a year, or $1,168 per household. That is 22% above the U.S. average (an index of 122, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $491K 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 3,782 households in Palo Alto County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Palo Alto County, IA compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?
Palo Alto County has 23.8 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $491K, 10% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, Palo Alto County would have about 10, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,261 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S.
How fast is Palo Alto County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Palo Alto County at 8,899 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,782 households. Median household income in Palo Alto County is $72,781, 10% 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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.