Auto · Metro area · South Carolina
Auto repair shops in the Columbia, SC metro area
How the Columbia, SC 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 55 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #161 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 697
- 171 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 316
- +9.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $306.2M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $902 a household
- Spending per listing
- $439K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.5
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 879,918
- +6.0% since 2020
See the auto repair shops around any address in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro 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
At $902 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the Columbia metro area spend about $306.2M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 697 auto repair shops, that is $439K per shop, in line with the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.
The Columbia metro area has 697 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. 171 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 20.5, 5% below the U.S. rate of 21.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 316 businesses with payroll in the Columbia metro area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair, up 9.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,075 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 629 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Columbia metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Columbia metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair shops in the Columbia metro area is 55 (upper middle), #161 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.
How the Columbia metro area compares
The same measures for South 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.
| Measure | Columbia metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.5 | 20.8 | 21.5 |
| Spending per listing | $439K | $435K | $445K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,075 | 1,161 | 955 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.4% | +5.9% | +2.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $902 | $907 | $958 |
| Median household income | $68,359 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 55 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 316+9.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,125
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $110.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 629Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 697171 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 689The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $1.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 879,918+6.0% since 2020
- Households
- 339,601
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,703 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 229
- Median household income
- $68,359+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,243
- Median home value
- $232,400
- Jobs located here
- 410,492
- Daytime population
- 894,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Columbia metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 75 | 161 | 16.9 | $527K | +12.0% | #32 of 387 |
| 2Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 73 | 594 | 17.7 | $516K | +10.7% | #44 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 62 | 473 | 20.4 | $451K | +4.7% | #101 of 387 |
| 3Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 56 | 307 | 19.3 | $437K | +20.9% | #151 of 387 |
| 4Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 56 | 898 | 23.4 | $398K | +9.0% | #152 of 387 |
| 5Columbia, SC | 55 | 697 | 20.5 | $439K | +6.0% | #161 of 387 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 53 | 2,468 | 22.9 | $415K | +10.1% | #185 of 387 |
| 6Sumter, SC | 47 | 82 | 20.0 | $430K | −0.3% | #230 of 387 |
| 7Spartanburg, SC | 45 | 367 | 25.6 | $364K | +14.3% | #251 of 387 |
| 8Florence, SC | 25 | 223 | 28.4 | $298K | +0.9% | #354 of 387 |
Other business types in the Columbia metro 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 Columbia, SC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 697 auto repair shops in the Columbia metro area. 171 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 316 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, up 9.4% from 2019. Official counts list 629 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Columbia, SC metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $306.2M a year, or $902 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 697 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $439K 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 339,601 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbia, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?
The Columbia metro area has 20.5 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $439K, in line with the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 689, against 697 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,075 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Columbia, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 879,918 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 339,601 households. Median household income in the Columbia metro area is $68,359, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, 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 Columbia metro area scores 55 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #161 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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.