Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Delaware

Car washes and detailers in the Seaford, DE area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for car washes and detailers in the Seaford, DE area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #21 of 441 scored small-town markets
The only scored small-town market based in Delaware

Listings
37
6 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$101.3M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $952 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.5
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
277,140
+16.1% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Seaford 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 Seaford 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

The Seaford area scores 79 (high) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #21 of 441 scored small-town markets and the only scored small-town market based in Delaware. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for car washes and detailers.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 37 car washes and detailers in the Seaford area. 6 of them (16%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.5, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.

At $952 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Seaford area spend about $101.3M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 37 car washes and detailers, that is $2.7M per location, 9% above 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.

Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Seaford area in 2023. That is one for every 13,305 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $10K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Seaford area. Population estimates put the population change in the Seaford area from 2020 to 2025 at +16.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Seaford area compares

The same measures for Delaware 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 Seaford, DE area compared with Delaware and the U.S.
MeasureSeaford areaDelawareU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.54.13.8
Spending per listing$2.7M$2.2M$2.5M
Households per official establishment13,3057,3106,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+34.2%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+16.1%+6.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$952$902$958
Median household income$81,497$84,954$80,734
Groundwork market score7948

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
49
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
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
40The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$10K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
277,140+16.1% since 2020
Households
106,441
Median age
49.6
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
936 sq. mi.
People per square mile
273
Median household income
$81,497
Average household income
$109,287
Median home value
$382,600
Jobs located here
85,870
Daytime population
239,628Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Seaford area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Seaford area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Other business types in the Seaford 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 Seaford, DE area?

There are 37 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Seaford area as of September 2026. 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 Seaford, DE area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $101.3M a year, or $952 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 37 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 106,441 households in the Seaford area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Seaford, DE area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Seaford 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 $2.7M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Seaford area would have about 40, against 37 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 13,305 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Seaford, DE area growing?

Population estimates put the Seaford area at 277,140 people in 2025, up 16.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 106,441 households. Median household income in the Seaford area is $81,497, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Seaford area scores 79 for car washes and detailers (high), #21 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 Seaford 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 Seaford area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Seaford 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.