Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Kansas

Auto repair shops in the Great Bend, KS area

How the Great Bend, KS 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 16 out of 100: Low

Ranked #525 of 538 scored small-town markets
#13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas

Listings
43
8 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
25
−3.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$11M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,064 a household
Spending per listing
$257K
42% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
41.4
93% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
24,790
−2.5% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend 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

For auto repair shops, the Great Bend area has a Groundwork market score of 16 (low): #525 of 538 scored small-town markets and #13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

As of September 2026, map listings count 43 auto repair shops in the Great Bend area. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 41.4 for every 10,000 households, 93% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Households in the Great Bend area spend about $11M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,064 per household, 11% above the U.S. average. That is about $257K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 42% below 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 25 businesses with payroll in the Great Bend area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair, down 3.8% from 2019. That is one for every 415 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $65K has gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Great Bend area. Population estimates show the Great Bend area declined 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Great Bend area compares

The same measures for Kansas 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 Great Bend, KS area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureGreat Bend areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households41.422.821.5
Spending per listing$257K$500K$445K
Households per official establishment415881955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−3.8%−1.0%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.5%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,064$1,140$958
Median household income$58,851$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score1659

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
25−3.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
86
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
33Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
438 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
25The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$65K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend area

Population, 2025 estimate
24,790−2.5% since 2020
Households
10,380
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
895 sq. mi.
People per square mile
28
Median household income
$58,851+18.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$78,743
Median home value
$126,400
Jobs located here
11,401
Daytime population
24,199Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Auto repair shops across Kansas

Every Kansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Great Bend area marked.

Top small-town markets in Kansas

Small-town markets in Kansas ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Atchison, KS591526.2$428K−0.9%#180 of 538
2Hutchinson, KS566023.4$477K−0.6%#204 of 538
3Ottawa, KS562927.9$444K+1.1%#207 of 538
4Pittsburg, KS523824.0$440K+0.1%#262 of 538
5Emporia, KS513725.3$427K+0.4%#272 of 538
6Arkansas City-Winfield, KS503425.4$438K−0.4%#280 of 538
7Dodge City, KS404336.5$323K−0.6%#376 of 538
8McPherson, KS394234.5$350K−0.4%#386 of 538
9Hays, KS374435.9$338K+0.4%#404 of 538
10Salina, KS378634.5$313K−1.4%#405 of 538
13Great Bend, KS164341.4$257K−2.5%#525 of 538

Other business types in the Great Bend area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the Great Bend, KS area?

The Great Bend area has 43 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, down 3.8% from 2019. Official counts list 33 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Great Bend, KS area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $11M a year, or $1,064 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 43 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $257K per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,380 households in the Great Bend area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Great Bend, KS area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Great Bend area has 41.4 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 93% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $257K, 42% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the national ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Great Bend area would have about 25, against 43 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 415 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Great Bend, KS area growing?

Population estimates put the Great Bend area at 24,790 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,380 households. The median household income in the Great Bend area is $58,851 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.4% 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 Great Bend area scores 16 for auto repair shops (low), #525 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 Great Bend 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 Great Bend area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend 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.