Auto · Metro area · Virginia
Auto repair shops in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area
The auto repair shops in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #179 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 1,321
- 301 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 665
- −2.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $646.9M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $915 a household
- Spending per listing
- $490K
- 10% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 18.7
- 13% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,797,213
- +0.9% since 2020
See the auto repair shops around any address in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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
Households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area spend about $646.9M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $915 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $490K per shop, 10% above the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 1,321 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 301 are chain locations, or 23%, against 16% across the U.S. That comes to 18.7 for every 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 21.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 665 businesses with payroll in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area classed as mechanical, body and glass repair, down 2.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,064 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 883 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 22 SBA-backed loans worth $10.2M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area grew 0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair shops in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area is 53 (upper middle), #179 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area compares
The same measures for Virginia 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 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 18.7 | 19.5 | 21.5 |
| Spending per listing | $490K | $496K | $445K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,064 | 982 | 955 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −2.8% | +0.4% | +2.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.9% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $915 | $968 | $958 |
| Median household income | $82,330 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 665−2.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,260
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $224.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 883Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,321301 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,455The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 22
- Amount
- $10.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,797,213+0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 707,408
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 3,202 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 558
- Median household income
- $82,330
- Average household income
- $108,120
- Median home value
- $340,900
- Jobs located here
- 729,464
- Daytime population
- 1,773,219Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Charlottesville, VA | 80 | 130 | 14.4 | $681K | +3.1% | #8 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 69 | 3,922 | 16.5 | $546K | +3.3% | #58 of 387 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 59 | 261 | 19.9 | $469K | +2.3% | #117 of 387 |
| 2Richmond, VA | 55 | 1,123 | 21.1 | $460K | +5.5% | #158 of 387 |
| 3Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 54 | 101 | 19.3 | $499K | +3.2% | #165 of 387 |
| 4Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 53 | 1,321 | 18.7 | $490K | +0.9% | #179 of 387 |
| 5Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 51 | 120 | 17.1 | $553K | −0.1% | #191 of 387 |
| 6Lynchburg, VA | 39 | 250 | 24.2 | $410K | +2.9% | #282 of 387 |
| 7Winchester, VA-WV | 39 | 148 | 26.7 | $386K | +6.5% | #285 of 387 |
| 8Harrisonburg, VA | 35 | 134 | 26.8 | $390K | +3.5% | #303 of 387 |
Other business types in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,321 auto repair shops in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. 301 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 665 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, down 2.8% from 2019. Official counts list 883 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $646.9M a year, or $915 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,321 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $490K 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 707,408 households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 18.7 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $490K, 10% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area would have about 1,455, against 1,321 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,064 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area at 1,797,213 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 707,408 households. Median household income in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area is $82,330, 2% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 53 for auto repair shops (upper middle), #179 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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.