Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · California

Car washes and detailers in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area

How the Eureka-Arcata, CA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #240 of 441 scored small-town markets
#6 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California

Listings
24
2 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$54.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $990 a household
Spending per listing
$2.3M
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.4
16% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
131,647
−3.4% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area. 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

At $990 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in the Eureka-Arcata area spend about $54.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $2.3M of household spending for each location on map listings, 10% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

The Eureka-Arcata area has 24 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 8%, against 23% across the U.S. That is 4.4 per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in the Eureka-Arcata area classed as car washes. That is one for every 6,102 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $48K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Eureka-Arcata area.

Population estimates show the Eureka-Arcata area declined 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For car washes and detailers, the Eureka-Arcata area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #240 of 441 scored small-town markets and #6 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California.

How the Eureka-Arcata 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.

Car washes and detailing in Eureka-Arcata, CA area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureEureka-Arcata areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.43.33.8
Spending per listing$2.3M$3.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishment6,1026,0736,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.2%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$990$1,122$958
Median household income$61,160$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score4760

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9
Employees, 2023
26
Annual payroll, 2023
$807K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
242 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$48K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area

Population, 2025 estimate
131,647−3.4% since 2020
Households
54,922
Median age
40.4
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
3,568 sq. mi.
People per square mile
38
Median household income
$61,160+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,194
Median home value
$446,900
Jobs located here
48,178
Daytime population
133,286Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Eureka-Arcata area?

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Car washes and detailing across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Eureka-Arcata area marked.

Top small-town markets in California

Small-town markets in California ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Truckee-Grass Valley, CA78112.6$4.6M−0.4%#22 of 441
Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA7083.7$3.4M+0.9%#71 of 441
2Ukiah, CA6972.0$5.2M−3.5%#78 of 441
3Clearlake, CA66114.1$2.8M−0.6%#96 of 441
4Sonora, CA6594.0$2.9M−4.0%#102 of 441
5Red Bluff, CA6193.6$3M−1.7%#131 of 441
6Eureka-Arcata, CA47244.4$2.3M−3.4%#240 of 441

Other business types in the Eureka-Arcata area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 24 car washes and detailers in the Eureka-Arcata area. 2 of them (8%) 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 Eureka-Arcata, CA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $54.4M a year, or $990 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.3M 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 54,922 households in the Eureka-Arcata area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Eureka-Arcata, CA area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Eureka-Arcata area has 4.4 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.3M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Eureka-Arcata area would have about 22, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,102 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Eureka-Arcata, CA area growing?

Population estimates put the Eureka-Arcata area at 131,647 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 54,922 households. The median household income in the Eureka-Arcata area is $61,160 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.3% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Eureka-Arcata area scores 47 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #240 of 441 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area

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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.