Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Michigan

Auto repair shops in the Cadillac, MI area

How the Cadillac, MI 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 35 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #421 of 538 scored small-town markets
#15 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
63
10 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
32
+3.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$20.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,039 a household
Spending per listing
$323K
27% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
32.1
49% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,719
+2.0% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Cadillac 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 Cadillac 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

The Cadillac area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #421 of 538 scored small-town markets and #15 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 63 auto repair shops in the Cadillac area. 10 of them (16%) are chain locations, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 32.1, 49% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

At $1,039 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in the Cadillac area spend about $20.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $323K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 27% 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 32 businesses with payroll in the Cadillac area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair, up 3.3% from 2019. That is one for every 613 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.6M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Cadillac area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Cadillac area grew 2.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Cadillac area compares

The same measures for Michigan 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 Cadillac, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureCadillac areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households32.119.921.5
Spending per listing$323K$512K$445K
Households per official establishment613960955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.3%+1.2%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.0%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,039$1,022$958
Median household income$62,015$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score3556

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
32+3.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
195
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
56Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6310 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
46The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$1.6M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
49,719+2.0% since 2020
Households
19,605
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,130 sq. mi.
People per square mile
44
Median household income
$62,015+31.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,021
Median home value
$170,400
Jobs located here
16,131
Daytime population
48,433Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Auto repair shops across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Cadillac area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Big Rapids, MI713420.3$516K+4.7%#69 of 538
2Holland, MI679420.6$580K+2.1%#91 of 538
3Owosso, MI675921.0$525K−0.4%#93 of 538
Marinette, WI-MI655819.7$542K+0.3%#107 of 538
4Hillsdale, MI654324.1$452K0.0%#112 of 538
5Marquette, MI646021.2$482K+2.3%#121 of 538
6Adrian, MI628421.6$507K−1.6%#144 of 538
7Coldwater, MI613520.7$494K+2.5%#157 of 538
8Houghton, MI573120.1$508K+1.8%#191 of 538
9Alma, MI544027.1$399K−1.1%#235 of 538
15Cadillac, MI356332.1$323K+2.0%#421 of 538

Other business types in the Cadillac area

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the Cadillac, MI area?

There are 63 auto repair shops on map listings in the Cadillac area as of September 2026. 10 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 3.3% from 2019. Another 56 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Cadillac, MI area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $20.4M a year, or $1,039 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $323K per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,605 households in the Cadillac area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Cadillac, MI area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Cadillac area has 32.1 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 49% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $323K, 27% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the national ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Cadillac area would have about 46, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 613 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Cadillac, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Cadillac area at 49,719 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,605 households. The median household income in the Cadillac area is $62,015 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.4% 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 Cadillac area scores 35 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #421 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 Cadillac 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 Cadillac area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cadillac 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 Cadillac 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.