Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · North Carolina

Auto repair shops in the Mount Airy, NC area

How the Mount Airy, NC 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #353 of 538 scored small-town markets
#19 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina

Listings
89
6 chain locations (7%)
Official establishments
34
+13.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$30.3M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,014 a household
Spending per listing
$340K
23% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.8
39% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
72,287
+1.3% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the Mount Airy 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 Mount Airy area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 89 auto repair shops in the Mount Airy area. Chain locations make up 7% of them, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 29.8, 39% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Mount Airy area comes to about $30.3M a year: $1,014 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. That is about $340K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 23% 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 34 businesses with payroll in the Mount Airy area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair, up 13.3% from 2019. That is one for every 879 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Official counts list 141 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.4M has gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Mount Airy area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Mount Airy area grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Mount Airy area scores 43 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for auto repair shops, ranking #353 of 538 scored small-town markets and #19 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.

How the Mount Airy area compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Mount Airy, NC area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureMount Airy areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.821.721.5
Spending per listing$340K$432K$445K
Households per official establishment8791,010955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+13.3%+3.0%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,014$939$958
Median household income$55,656$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4353

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
34+13.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
121
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
141Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
896 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
68The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.4M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
72,287+1.3% since 2020
Households
29,869
Median age
44.0
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
533 sq. mi.
People per square mile
134
Median household income
$55,656+27.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,579
Median home value
$177,600
Jobs located here
28,742
Daytime population
70,148Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Auto repair shops across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Mount Airy area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Carolina

Small-town markets in North Carolina ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Brevard, NC752215.1$620K+2.9%#41 of 538
2Kill Devil Hills, NC722917.2$602K+3.3%#55 of 538
3Morehead City, NC725416.9$554K+4.1%#56 of 538
4Anderson Creek, NC719919.9$511K+12.3%#70 of 538
5Boone, NC653516.5$556K+0.6%#105 of 538
6Waynesville, NC615620.6$464K+1.9%#160 of 538
7Marion, NC604423.6$403K+1.5%#173 of 538
8North Wilkesboro, NC595921.8$439K+0.6%#179 of 538
9New Bern, NC5610620.2$443K+3.6%#208 of 538
10Lumberton, NC5510023.2$386K+3.4%#228 of 538
19Mount Airy, NC438929.8$340K+1.3%#353 of 538

Other business types in the Mount Airy area

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the Mount Airy, NC area?

The Mount Airy area has 89 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 34 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 13.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 141 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Mount Airy, NC area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $30.3M a year, or $1,014 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 89 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $340K per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 29,869 households in the Mount Airy area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Mount Airy, NC area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The Mount Airy area has 29.8 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 39% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $340K, 23% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the national ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Mount Airy area would have about 68, against 89 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 879 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Mount Airy, NC area growing?

Population estimates put the Mount Airy area at 72,287 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 29,869 households. The median household income in the Mount Airy area is $55,656 a year, 31% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.7% 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 Mount Airy area scores 43 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #353 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 Mount Airy 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 Mount Airy area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mount Airy 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 Mount Airy 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.