Auto · Small-town market · Minnesota
Auto repair shops in the Brainerd, MN area
How the Brainerd, MN 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #117 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 118
- 22 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 46
- +7.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $48.8M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,154 a household
- Spending per listing
- $414K
- 7% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 27.9
- 30% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 100,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the auto repair shops around any address in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 Brainerd area comes to about $48.8M a year: $1,154 per household, 21% above the U.S. average. Spread across 118 auto repair shops, that is $414K per shop, 7% below the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.
The Brainerd area has 118 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 27.9 for every 10,000 households, 30% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 46 businesses with payroll in the Brainerd area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair, up 7.0% from 2019. That is one for every 919 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 107 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $7.5M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Brainerd area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Brainerd area grew 4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Brainerd area scores 65 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #117 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Brainerd area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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.
| Measure | Brainerd area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 27.9 | 19.7 | 21.5 |
| Spending per listing | $414K | $561K | $445K |
| Households per official establishment | 919 | 844 | 955 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.0% | +1.7% | +2.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,154 | $1,108 | $958 |
| Median household income | $71,384 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46+7.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 237
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 107Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11822 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 110The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 9
- Amount
- $7.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 100,562+4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 42,276
- Median age
- 46.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 3,020 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $71,384+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,780
- Median home value
- $301,000
- Jobs located here
- 39,612
- Daytime population
- 95,720Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardAuto repair shops across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Brainerd area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Alexandria, MN | 71 | 37 | 21.1 | $550K | +2.6% | #67 of 538 |
| 2Grand Rapids, MN | 66 | 44 | 23.7 | $488K | +0.9% | #104 of 538 |
| 3Brainerd, MN | 65 | 118 | 27.9 | $414K | +4.3% | #117 of 538 |
| 4Austin, MN | 63 | 39 | 24.8 | $457K | +2.3% | #136 of 538 |
| Wahpeton, ND-MN | 62 | 18 | 18.9 | $629K | 0.0% | #139 of 538 |
| 5Owatonna, MN | 62 | 31 | 20.5 | $570K | +0.2% | #140 of 538 |
| 6Faribault-Northfield, MN | 61 | 56 | 23.8 | $481K | +4.2% | #159 of 538 |
| 7Winona, MN | 59 | 48 | 23.7 | $460K | +1.8% | #176 of 538 |
| 8Fergus Falls, MN | 58 | 68 | 27.0 | $441K | +1.6% | #186 of 538 |
| 9Bemidji, MN | 54 | 48 | 26.4 | $428K | +1.8% | #233 of 538 |
Other business types in the Brainerd area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many auto repair shops are in the Brainerd, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 118 auto repair shops in the Brainerd area. 22 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 7.0% from 2019. Official counts list 107 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Brainerd, MN area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $48.8M a year, or $1,154 per household. That is 21% above the U.S. average (an index of 121, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 118 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $414K 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 42,276 households in the Brainerd area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Brainerd, MN area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?
The Brainerd area has 27.9 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 30% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $414K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Brainerd area would have about 110, against 118 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 919 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Brainerd, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Brainerd area at 100,562 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 42,276 households. Median household income in the Brainerd area is $71,384, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.4%, 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 Brainerd area scores 65 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #117 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 Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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.