Groundwork

Auto · County · Kentucky

Auto repair shops in Laurel County, KY

The auto repair shops in Laurel County, KY, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,891 of 2,378 scored counties
#75 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
70
9 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
25
−3.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$22.1M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $923 a household
Spending per listing
$316K
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.2
36% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
63,746
+1.6% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in Laurel 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 Laurel County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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, Laurel County has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #1,891 of 2,378 scored counties and #75 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 70 auto repair shops in Laurel County. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 29.2, 36% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Laurel County comes to about $22.1M a year: $923 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That works out to $316K per shop, 29% 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.

Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Laurel County in 2023, down 3.8% from 2019. That is one for every 960 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Population estimates show Laurel County grew 1.6% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Laurel County compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Laurel County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureLaurel CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.221.121.5
Spending per listing$316K$420K$445K
Households per official establishment9601,206955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−3.8%−1.2%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.6%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$923$889$958
Median household income$57,771$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score3446

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
26 → 25−3.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
93
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
102Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
709 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
50The 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 Laurel 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 Laurel County

Population, 2025 estimate
63,746+1.6% since 2020
Households
23,996
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
434 sq. mi.
People per square mile
145
Median household income
$57,771+39.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,501
Median home value
$159,500
Jobs located here
28,658
Daytime population
68,298Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Laurel 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 Laurel County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Auto repair shops across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Spencer County, KY961013.7$957K+7.7%#3 of 2,378
2Allen County, KY821113.7$716K+9.5%#82 of 2,378
3Oldham County, KY813816.5$720K+4.9%#99 of 2,378
4Pendleton County, KY78611.0$956K+1.1%#142 of 2,378
5Owen County, KY76511.8$827K+2.6%#184 of 2,378
6Breckinridge County, KY761619.8$532K+5.2%#202 of 2,378
7Edmonson County, KY75713.7$708K+5.0%#204 of 2,378
8Meade County, KY711917.3$589K+2.2%#312 of 2,378
9Garrard County, KY711217.9$549K+7.3%#317 of 2,378
10Nelson County, KY713819.8$511K+4.8%#323 of 2,378
75Laurel County, KY347029.2$316K+1.6%#1,891 of 2,378

Other business types in Laurel County

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in Laurel County, KY?

There are 70 auto repair shops on map listings in Laurel County as of September 2026. 9 of them (13%) 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. Another 102 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Laurel County, KY spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $22.1M a year, or $923 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 70 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $316K per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,996 households in Laurel County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Laurel County, KY compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

Laurel County has 29.2 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $316K, 29% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the national ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, Laurel County would have about 50, against 70 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 960 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 Laurel County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Laurel County at 63,746 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,996 households. The median household income in Laurel County is $57,771 a year, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 39.1% 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. 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. Laurel County scores 34 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #1,891 of 2,378 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Laurel 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 Laurel County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Laurel 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 Laurel 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.