Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Michigan

Auto repair shops in the Saginaw, MI metro area

How the Saginaw, MI 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 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #268 of 387 scored metro areas
#14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan

Listings
170
31 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
86
−7.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$77.8M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $998 a household
Spending per listing
$458K
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
21.8
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
187,688
−1.1% since 2020

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

Households in the Saginaw metro area spend about $77.8M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $998 per household, 4% above the U.S. average. That works out to $458K per shop, 3% above the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

The Saginaw metro area has 170 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 18% of them, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 21.8, in line with the U.S. rate of 21.5.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Saginaw metro area was 86 in 2023, down 7.5% from 2019. That is one for every 906 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 106 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $790K have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Saginaw metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Saginaw metro area declined 1.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Saginaw metro area scores 41 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #268 of 387 scored metro areas and #14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.

How the Saginaw metro 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 Saginaw, MI metro area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureSaginaw metro areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households21.819.921.5
Spending per listing$458K$512K$445K
Households per official establishment906960955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−7.5%+1.2%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.1%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$998$1,022$958
Median household income$60,622$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4156

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
86−7.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
458
Annual payroll, 2023
$22.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
106Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
17031 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
175The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$790K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
187,688−1.1% since 2020
Households
77,958
Median age
41.8
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
801 sq. mi.
People per square mile
236
Median household income
$60,622+26.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,545
Median home value
$152,800
Jobs located here
77,780
Daytime population
194,916Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Saginaw 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 Saginaw 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 Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas 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 Saginaw metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Michigan

Metro areas in Michigan ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Monroe, MI789715.4$729K+0.7%#17 of 387
2Ann Arbor, MI7518612.4$828K−0.4%#30 of 387
3Midland, MI735916.9$652K+0.3%#40 of 387
4Lansing-East Lansing, MI7333917.5$575K+1.4%#42 of 387
5Jackson, MI6911818.9$541K−0.4%#59 of 387
6Kalamazoo-Portage, MI6719017.7$573K+0.8%#69 of 387
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI5925319.7$511K+0.1%#115 of 387
7Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI573,38719.1$519K+0.1%#137 of 387
8Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI5794821.5$510K+2.8%#140 of 387
9Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI5514421.3$475K+1.8%#157 of 387
14Saginaw, MI4117021.8$458K−1.1%#268 of 387

Other business types in the Saginaw 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 Saginaw, MI metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 170 auto repair shops in the Saginaw metro area. 31 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 86 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, down 7.5% from 2019. Official counts list 106 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $77.8M a year, or $998 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 170 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $458K 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 77,958 households in the Saginaw metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Saginaw metro area has 21.8 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $458K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Saginaw metro area would have about 175, against 170 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 906 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count fell 7.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Saginaw, MI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Saginaw metro area at 187,688 people in 2025, down 1.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 77,958 households. Median household income in the Saginaw metro area is $60,622, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.3%, 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 Saginaw metro area scores 41 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #268 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 Saginaw 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 Saginaw metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Saginaw 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 Saginaw 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.