Auto · Metro area · California
Car washes and detailers in the El Centro, CA metro area
How the El Centro, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #240 of 387 scored metro areas
#24 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 23
- 8 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $51.7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,041 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.2M
- 11% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.6
- 21% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 181,411
- +1.1% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the El Centro 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 El Centro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 car washes and detailers in the El Centro metro area. Of those, 8 are chain locations, or 35%, against 23% across the U.S. That is 4.6 per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
At $1,041 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in the El Centro metro area spend about $51.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 23 car washes and detailers, that is $2.2M per location, 11% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which car washes and detailers share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in the El Centro metro area classed as car washes. That is one for every 5,516 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $5.6M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the El Centro metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the El Centro metro area grew 1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the El Centro metro area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #240 of 387 scored metro areas and #24 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the El Centro metro area compares
The same measures for California 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 | El Centro metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.2M | $3.4M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 5,516 | 6,073 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.2% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,041 | $1,122 | $958 |
| Median household income | $57,681 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9
- Employees, 2023
- 75
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 238 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 21The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $5.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 181,411+1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 49,644
- Median age
- 33.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,176 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $57,681+21.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,363
- Median home value
- $309,600
- Jobs located here
- 63,081
- Daytime population
- 165,766Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the El Centro 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 El Centro 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in California, with the El Centro metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 78 | 158 | 2.3 | $5.2M | −0.6% | #6 of 387 |
| 2Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 76 | 15 | 1.5 | $7.9M | −4.7% | #16 of 387 |
| 3Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 74 | 263 | 3.0 | $3.8M | +3.2% | #25 of 387 |
| 4Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 71 | 50 | 2.6 | $4.5M | −0.4% | #41 of 387 |
| 5Stockton-Lodi, CA | 71 | 95 | 3.9 | $3.2M | +5.5% | #42 of 387 |
| 6San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 70 | 389 | 2.2 | $4.7M | −2.4% | #44 of 387 |
| 7Salinas, CA | 70 | 42 | 3.2 | $3.8M | −1.5% | #45 of 387 |
| 8Merced, CA | 70 | 25 | 2.9 | $3.8M | +5.1% | #46 of 387 |
| 9Chico, CA | 69 | 27 | 3.2 | $3.2M | −0.5% | #50 of 387 |
| 10Yuba City, CA | 68 | 19 | 3.1 | $3.8M | +3.3% | #53 of 387 |
| 24El Centro, CA | 45 | 23 | 4.6 | $2.2M | +1.1% | #240 of 387 |
Other business types in the El Centro 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 care30
- Auto repair shops33
- Collision repair and body shops41
- Car washes and detailing45
- Tire shops24
- Oil change and quick lube45
- Gas stations24
- Insurance agencies26
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 El Centro, CA metro area?
There are 23 car washes and detailers on map listings in the El Centro metro area as of September 2026. 8 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the El Centro, CA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $51.7M a year, or $1,041 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.2M per location. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,644 households in the El Centro metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the El Centro, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The El Centro metro area has 4.6 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.2M, 11% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the El Centro metro area would have about 21, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,516 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the El Centro, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the El Centro metro area at 181,411 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,644 households. Median household income in the El Centro metro area is $57,681, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.1%, 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 El Centro metro area scores 45 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #240 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 El Centro 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 El Centro metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the El Centro 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 El Centro 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.