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Car washes and detailers in Marin County, CA

How Marin County, CA 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 72 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #170 of 1,451 scored counties
#14 of 45 scored counties in California

Listings
23
4 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$117.1M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,137 a household
Spending per listing
$5.1M
Twice the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.2
42% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
253,694
−2.9% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Marin 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 Marin County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in Marin County spend about $117.1M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,137 per household, 19% above the U.S. average. That is about $5.1M of household spending for each location on map listings, twice the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

Marin County has 23 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 2.2 per 10,000 households, 42% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in Marin County in 2023. That is one for every 7,924 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Marin County declined 2.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in Marin County is 72 (upper middle), #170 of 1,451 scored counties and #14 of 45 scored counties in California. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Marin County 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 Marin County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureMarin CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.23.33.8
Spending per listing$5.1M$3.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishment7,9246,0736,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.2%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.9%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,137$1,122$958
Median household income$149,091$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score7260

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14 → 13
Employees, 2023
919
Annual payroll, 2023
$30.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
234 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
47The 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 Marin 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 Marin County

Population, 2025 estimate
253,694−2.9% since 2020
Households
103,018
Median age
47.7
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
520 sq. mi.
People per square mile
496
Median household income
$149,091+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$232,579
Median home value
$1,507,300
Jobs located here
110,704
Daytime population
260,594Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Marin 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 Marin County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Car washes and detailing across California

Every California market ranked →

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

Top counties in California

Counties in California ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1San Benito County, CA8962.9$5M+8.6%#9 of 1,451
2Madera County, CA89153.3$3.6M+7.4%#14 of 1,451
3Yuba County, CA8662.1$5.4M+8.2%#24 of 1,451
4Calaveras County, CA8663.3$4M+2.8%#26 of 1,451
5Placer County, CA85513.2$3.7M+8.9%#36 of 1,451
6Contra Costa County, CA82962.3$5.3M+0.3%#47 of 1,451
7Santa Clara County, CA781522.3$5.2M−0.9%#73 of 1,451
8Santa Cruz County, CA77151.5$7.9M−4.7%#86 of 1,451
9El Dorado County, CA76202.6$4.9M+0.6%#105 of 1,451
10Nevada County, CA75112.6$4.6M−0.4%#117 of 1,451
14Marin County, CA72232.2$5.1M−2.9%#170 of 1,451

Other business types in Marin County

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

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Marin County, CA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 car washes and detailers in Marin County. 4 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in Marin County, CA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $117.1M a year, or $1,137 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $5.1M 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 103,018 households in Marin County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Marin County has 2.2 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 42% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $5.1M, twice the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Marin County would have about 47, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,924 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Marin County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Marin County at 253,694 people in 2025, down 2.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 103,018 households. The median household income in Marin County is $149,091 a year, 85% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.4% 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. Marin County scores 72 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #170 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Marin 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 Marin County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Marin 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 Marin 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.