Auto · Metro area · Alabama
Car washes and detailers in the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for car washes and detailers in the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #102 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama
- Listings
- 37
- 6 chain locations (16%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $94.6M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $895 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.5
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 281,850
- +2.9% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Tuscaloosa metro area
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 the Tuscaloosa 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 $895 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Tuscaloosa metro area spend about $94.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $2.6M per location, in line with the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The Tuscaloosa metro area has 37 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 16% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 3.5 per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Tuscaloosa metro area classed as car washes. That is one for every 13,210 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Tuscaloosa metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.9%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Tuscaloosa metro area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #102 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama.
How the Tuscaloosa metro area 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.
| Measure | Tuscaloosa metro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $2.3M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 13,210 | 7,159 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +43.1% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.9% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $895 | $929 | $958 |
| Median household income | $61,517 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8
- Employees, 2023
- 69
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 376 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 38The 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 the Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 281,850+2.9% since 2020
- Households
- 105,683
- Median age
- 36.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,493 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 80
- Median household income
- $61,517+22.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $84,019
- Median home value
- $230,700
- Jobs located here
- 106,684
- Daytime population
- 281,020Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Tuscaloosa 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 car washes and detailers on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Tuscaloosa metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardCar washes and detailing across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Tuscaloosa metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 80 | 29 | 2.9 | $3.3M | +14.8% | #4 of 387 |
| 2Auburn-Opelika, AL | 78 | 21 | 2.7 | $3.4M | +7.1% | #9 of 387 |
| 3Tuscaloosa, AL | 63 | 37 | 3.5 | $2.6M | +2.9% | #102 of 387 |
| 4Decatur, AL | 52 | 25 | 4.0 | $2.6M | +2.5% | #179 of 387 |
| 5Huntsville, AL | 49 | 97 | 4.7 | $2.1M | +12.5% | #205 of 387 |
| 6Birmingham, AL | 48 | 191 | 4.1 | $2.3M | +1.4% | #211 of 387 |
| 7Montgomery, AL | 37 | 67 | 4.4 | $2M | +0.9% | #299 of 387 |
| 8Dothan, AL | 36 | 26 | 4.3 | $2.1M | +3.4% | #304 of 387 |
| 9Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 31 | 32 | 5.0 | $1.9M | +3.5% | #337 of 387 |
| Columbus, GA-AL | 30 | 53 | 4.2 | $2M | −1.3% | #341 of 387 |
Other business types in the Tuscaloosa metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
- Auto repair and car care67
- Auto repair shops68
- Collision repair and body shops59
- Car washes and detailing63
- Tire shops25
- Oil change and quick lube56
- Gas stations32
- Insurance agencies81
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many car washes and detailers are in the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 37 car washes and detailers in the Tuscaloosa metro area. 6 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $94.6M a year, or $895 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 37 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.6M 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 105,683 households in the Tuscaloosa metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Tuscaloosa metro area has 3.5 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.6M, in line with the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Tuscaloosa metro area would have about 38, against 37 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 13,210 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Tuscaloosa metro area at 281,850 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 105,683 households. The median household income in the Tuscaloosa metro area is $61,517 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.0% 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. The Tuscaloosa metro area scores 63 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #102 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 Tuscaloosa metro area. 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 the Tuscaloosa metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa 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.