Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Pennsylvania

Auto repair shops in the St. Marys, PA area

How the St. Marys, PA 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 29 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #465 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania

Listings
30
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
18
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$11.7M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $880 a household
Spending per listing
$391K
12% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.5
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
29,926
−3.3% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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

For auto repair shops, the St. Marys area has a Groundwork market score of 29 (lower middle): #465 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Households in the St. Marys area spend about $11.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $880 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $391K per shop, 12% below the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

There are 30 auto repair shops on map listings in the St. Marys area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 22.5 for every 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.

In 2023, official counts showed 18 businesses with payroll in the St. Marys area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair. That is one for every 740 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Population estimates show the St. Marys area declined 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the St. Marys area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 St. Marys, PA area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Marys areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.523.121.5
Spending per listing$391K$362K$445K
Households per official establishment740804955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−1.1%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$880$837$958
Median household income$66,380$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score2914

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
18
Employees, 2023
47
Annual payroll, 2023
$2M
One-person businesses, 2023
31Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
300 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
26The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
29,926−3.3% since 2020
Households
13,325
Median age
47.8
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
827 sq. mi.
People per square mile
37
Median household income
$66,380+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,773
Median home value
$133,600
Jobs located here
12,876
Daytime population
29,443Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Auto repair shops across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Pennsylvania for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the St. Marys area marked.

Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania

Small-town markets in Pennsylvania ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hemlock Farms, PA694619.0$498K+7.2%#80 of 538
2Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA396424.3$365K+2.3%#384 of 538
3Lewisburg, PA353423.4$385K−0.8%#419 of 538
4Lewistown, PA354222.7$372K0.0%#420 of 538
5Pottsville, PA3414525.0$358K+1.5%#427 of 538
6Lock Haven, PA344126.6$327K+1.3%#433 of 538
7Warren, PA333521.7$387K−3.8%#439 of 538
8Sunbury, PA3310122.1$380K−1.7%#440 of 538
9Huntingdon, PA304930.0$325K−2.4%#461 of 538
10St. Marys, PA293022.5$391K−3.3%#465 of 538

Other business types in the St. Marys area

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

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in the St. Marys, PA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 30 auto repair shops in the St. Marys area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023. Official counts list 31 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the St. Marys, PA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $11.7M a year, or $880 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 30 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $391K 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 13,325 households in the St. Marys area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the St. Marys, PA area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

The St. Marys area has 22.5 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $391K, 12% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the St. Marys area would have about 26, against 30 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 740 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S.

How fast is the St. Marys, PA area growing?

Population estimates put the St. Marys area at 29,926 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,325 households. Median household income in the St. Marys area is $66,380, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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 St. Marys area scores 29 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #465 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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.