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Car washes and detailers in Elmore County, AL

How Elmore County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #761 of 1,451 scored counties
#15 of 35 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
20
5 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$33.9M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,030 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
33% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.1
61% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
91,577
+4.2% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Elmore County

The site report maps the car washes and detailers 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 Elmore County. 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

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Elmore County comes to about $33.9M a year: $1,030 per household, 8% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1.7M per location, 33% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

There are 20 car washes and detailers on map listings in Elmore County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 25% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 6.1 for every 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in Elmore County was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 6,571 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Elmore County grew 4.2% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in Elmore County is 49 (lower middle), #761 of 1,451 scored counties and #15 of 35 scored counties in Alabama.

How Elmore County compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the car washes and detailers counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Car washes and detailing in Elmore County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureElmore CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.14.13.8
Spending per listing$1.7M$2.3M$2.5M
Households per official establishment6,5717,1596,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+43.1%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.2%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,030$929$958
Median household income$78,243$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4949

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 5
Employees, 2023
30
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
205 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
13The 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 car washes in Elmore County, 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 Elmore County

Population, 2025 estimate
91,577+4.2% since 2020
Households
32,856
Median age
40.2
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
619 sq. mi.
People per square mile
145
Median household income
$78,243+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,745
Median home value
$223,900
Jobs located here
20,312
Daytime population
74,014Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Elmore County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the car washes and detailers on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Elmore County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Car washes and detailing across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Elmore County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Chilton County, AL7852.8$3.6M+5.9%#74 of 1,451
2Baldwin County, AL78292.9$3.3M+14.8%#79 of 1,451
3Lee County, AL78202.9$3.3M+8.6%#80 of 1,451
4Shelby County, AL73333.8$2.8M+6.5%#167 of 1,451
5Limestone County, AL72174.2$2.6M+18.0%#191 of 1,451
6Autauga County, AL7062.6$3.8M+5.1%#226 of 1,451
7St. Clair County, AL64133.7$2.8M+7.1%#365 of 1,451
8Coffee County, AL6483.8$2.6M+6.3%#372 of 1,451
9Cullman County, AL60133.7$2.9M+6.7%#458 of 1,451
10Tuscaloosa County, AL59374.1$2.2M+3.8%#500 of 1,451
15Elmore County, AL49206.1$1.7M+4.2%#761 of 1,451

Other business types in Elmore County

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

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Elmore County, AL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 20 car washes and detailers in Elmore County. 5 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in Elmore County, AL spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $33.9M a year, or $1,030 per household. That is 8% above the U.S. average (an index of 108, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per location. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which car washes and detailers share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 32,856 households in Elmore County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Elmore County, AL compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

Elmore County has 6.1 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.7M, 33% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Elmore County would have about 13, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,571 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Elmore County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Elmore County at 91,577 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 32,856 households. The median household income in Elmore County is $78,243 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.5% 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. 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. Elmore County scores 49 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #761 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Elmore County. It maps the car washes and detailers 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 car washes and detailers · All 56 business types in Elmore County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Elmore County?

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 Elmore County. 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.