Auto · Small-town market · Iowa
Auto repair shops in the Spirit Lake, IA area
How the Spirit Lake, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #75 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 19
- 1 chain location (5%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $10.6M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,198 a household
- Spending per listing
- $558K
- 25% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.5
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,077
- +1.7% since 2020
See the auto repair shops around any address in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 auto repair shops in the Spirit Lake area. One of them (5%) is a chain location, against 16% across the U.S. That is 21.5 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 21.5.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Spirit Lake area comes to about $10.6M a year: $1,198 per household, 25% above the U.S. average. That works out to $558K per shop, 25% above the U.S. figure of $445K. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which auto repair shops share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Spirit Lake area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair. That is one for every 737 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Official counts also show 22 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $137K has gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Spirit Lake area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Spirit Lake area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Spirit Lake area scores 70 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #75 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Spirit Lake 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 | Spirit Lake area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 21.5 | 24.1 | 21.5 |
| Spending per listing | $558K | $470K | $445K |
| Households per official establishment | 737 | 766 | 955 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.3% | +2.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,198 | $1,134 | $958 |
| Median household income | $75,432 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 69
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 22Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 191 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $137K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,077+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,845
- Median age
- 48.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,164
- Median home value
- $270,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,412
- Daytime population
- 20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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 small-town markets in Iowa for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spirit Lake area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pella, IA | 79 | 28 | 21.0 | $603K | +2.3% | #25 of 538 |
| 2Storm Lake, IA | 75 | 15 | 19.9 | $597K | −1.7% | #42 of 538 |
| 3Spirit Lake, IA | 70 | 19 | 21.5 | $558K | +1.7% | #75 of 538 |
| 4Marshalltown, IA | 70 | 34 | 21.9 | $536K | −0.5% | #76 of 538 |
| 5Spencer, IA | 64 | 17 | 23.3 | $452K | −0.8% | #122 of 538 |
| 6Le Mars, IA | 55 | 27 | 26.2 | $481K | 0.0% | #217 of 538 |
| 7Muscatine, IA | 55 | 47 | 27.1 | $418K | −3.0% | #223 of 538 |
| 8Ottumwa, IA | 50 | 44 | 31.4 | $343K | −0.3% | #288 of 538 |
| 9Fort Madison, IA | 49 | 45 | 31.4 | $364K | −3.6% | #294 of 538 |
| 10Oskaloosa, IA | 47 | 25 | 28.6 | $422K | −1.2% | #310 of 538 |
Other business types in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake, IA area?
There are 19 auto repair shops on map listings in the Spirit Lake area as of September 2026. One of them (5%) is a chain location. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023. Another 22 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Spirit Lake, IA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $10.6M a year, or $1,198 per household. That is 25% above the U.S. average (an index of 125, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $558K per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?
The Spirit Lake 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 $558K, 25% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the national ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Spirit Lake area would have about 24, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 737 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S.
How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Spirit Lake area scores 70 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #75 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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.