Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Kentucky

Auto repair shops in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area

How the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #159 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky

Listings
417
87 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
171
+2.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$185.3M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $857 a household
Spending per listing
$444K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
19.3
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
535,174
+3.4% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Lexington-Fayette metro 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 Lexington-Fayette metro 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

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Lexington-Fayette metro area comes to about $185.3M a year: $857 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That works out to $444K per shop, in line with the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

The Lexington-Fayette metro area has 417 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 87 are chain locations, or 21%, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 19.3 for every 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Official counts show 171 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Lexington-Fayette metro area in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,265 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Official counts list 300 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $2.5M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Lexington-Fayette metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Lexington-Fayette metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair shops in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is 55 (upper middle), #159 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.

How the Lexington-Fayette metro area 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 Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureLexington-Fayette metro areaKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households19.321.121.5
Spending per listing$444K$420K$445K
Households per official establishment1,2651,206955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.5%−1.2%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.4%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$857$889$958
Median household income$71,966$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5546

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
171+2.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
938
Annual payroll, 2023
$46.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
300Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
41787 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
417The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$2.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Lexington-Fayette metro 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
535,174+3.4% since 2020
Households
216,273
Median age
38.1
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,470 sq. mi.
People per square mile
355
Median household income
$71,966+22.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$102,014
Median home value
$281,300
Jobs located here
289,772
Daytime population
573,681Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lexington-Fayette metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Auto repair shops across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lexington-Fayette metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Kentucky

Metro areas in Kentucky ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN741,67618.5$569K+2.7%#35 of 387
Clarksville, TN-KY6425920.7$447K+8.5%#90 of 387
1Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN561,10419.8$466K+2.9%#150 of 387
2Lexington-Fayette, KY5541719.3$444K+3.4%#159 of 387
3Bowling Green, KY5516122.0$412K+9.5%#163 of 387
4Elizabethtown, KY5111021.7$414K+2.4%#196 of 387
5Owensboro, KY508719.2$467K+1.3%#202 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH4530019.7$441K−2.6%#249 of 387
6Paducah, KY-IL1511226.8$342K−1.2%#378 of 387

Other business types in the Lexington-Fayette metro area

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 417 auto repair shops in the Lexington-Fayette metro area. 87 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 171 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 300 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $185.3M a year, or $857 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 417 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $444K 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 216,273 households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Lexington-Fayette metro area has 19.3 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $444K, in line with the U.S. figure of $445K. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,265 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Lexington-Fayette metro area at 535,174 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 216,273 households. Median household income in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is $71,966, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.6%, 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. The Lexington-Fayette metro area scores 55 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #159 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lexington-Fayette metro 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lexington-Fayette metro 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 Lexington-Fayette metro 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.