Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Minnesota

Auto repair shops in the Rochester, MN metro area

How the Rochester, MN 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 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #114 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota

Listings
203
39 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
112
+2.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$105.8M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,139 a household
Spending per listing
$521K
17% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
21.9
2% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
231,184
+2.0% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Rochester 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 Rochester 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 Rochester metro area spend about $105.8M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,139 per household, 19% above the U.S. average. That works out to $521K per shop, 17% above the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

There are 203 auto repair shops on map listings in the Rochester metro area as of September 2026. 39 of them (19%) are chain locations, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 21.9 for every 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Official counts show 112 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Rochester metro area in 2023, up 2.8% from 2019. That is one for every 829 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 152 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 11 SBA-backed loans worth $4.5M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Rochester metro area.

Population estimates show the Rochester metro area grew 2.0% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For auto repair shops, the Rochester metro area has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #114 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota.

How the Rochester metro 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.

Auto repair shops in Rochester, MN metro area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureRochester metro areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households21.919.721.5
Spending per listing$521K$561K$445K
Households per official establishment829844955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.8%+1.7%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.0%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,139$1,108$958
Median household income$91,882$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score5964

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
112+2.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
465
Annual payroll, 2023
$25.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
152Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
20339 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
238The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
11
Amount
$4.5M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
231,184+2.0% since 2020
Households
92,880
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,477 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$91,882+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$124,471
Median home value
$306,500
Jobs located here
129,873
Daytime population
235,233Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Rochester 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 Rochester 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas 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 Rochester metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Minnesota

Metro areas in Minnesota ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI722,53117.1$636K+2.6%#48 of 387
Sioux Falls, SD-MN6826021.2$541K+9.5%#64 of 387
Fargo, ND-MN6621719.7$529K+7.7%#78 of 387
2Rochester, MN5920321.9$521K+2.0%#114 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN548319.0$551K+0.8%#164 of 387
3Mankato, MN519222.7$493K+1.2%#193 of 387
4St. Cloud, MN5118223.3$485K+3.0%#195 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN4915421.4$493K+0.4%#207 of 387
5Duluth, MN-WI4527723.0$469K+0.2%#247 of 387

Other business types in the Rochester 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 Rochester, MN metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 203 auto repair shops in the Rochester metro area. 39 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 112 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 2.8% from 2019. Official counts list 152 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $105.8M a year, or $1,139 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 203 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $521K 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 92,880 households in the Rochester metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Rochester metro area has 21.9 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $521K, 17% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Rochester metro area would have about 238, against 203 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 829 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Rochester, MN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Rochester metro area at 231,184 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 92,880 households. Median household income in the Rochester metro area is $91,882, 14% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.7%, 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 Rochester metro area scores 59 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #114 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 Rochester 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 Rochester metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rochester 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 Rochester 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.