Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Florida

Car washes and detailers in the Lake City, FL area

The car washes and detailers in the Lake City, FL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #269 of 441 scored small-town markets
#2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Florida

Listings
12
4 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$24.8M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $903 a household
Spending per listing
$2.1M
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.4
16% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
74,094
+6.2% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Lake City 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 Lake City 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 $903 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the Lake City area spend about $24.8M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each location on map listings, 18% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

The Lake City area has 12 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 33%, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.4, 16% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Lake City area classed as car washes. That is one for every 3,429 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lake City area grew 6.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Lake City area is 44 (lower middle), #269 of 441 scored small-town markets and #2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Florida.

How the Lake City area compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Lake City, FL area compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureLake City areaFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.44.13.8
Spending per listing$2.1M$2.1M$2.5M
Households per official establishment3,4295,2476,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+29.4%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.2%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$903$835$958
Median household income$59,205$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score4427

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
31
Annual payroll, 2023
$641K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
124 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
10The 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 Lake City 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 Lake City area

Population, 2025 estimate
74,094+6.2% since 2020
Households
27,430
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
797 sq. mi.
People per square mile
90
Median household income
$59,205+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,718
Median home value
$194,900
Jobs located here
24,625
Daytime population
67,243Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lake City 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 Lake City area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Car washes and detailing across Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Florida for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Florida, with the Lake City area marked.

Top small-town markets in Florida

Small-town markets in Florida ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Palatka, FL6792.9$2.8M+5.9%#90 of 441
2Lake City, FL44124.4$2.1M+6.2%#269 of 441
3Okeechobee, FL4264.0$2.1M+7.4%#287 of 441
4Key West-Key Largo, FL32185.2$1.6M−2.9%#363 of 441

Other business types in the Lake City area

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

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in the Lake City, FL area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 car washes and detailers in the Lake City area. 4 of them (33%) 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 Lake City, FL area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $24.8M a year, or $903 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.1M 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 27,430 households in the Lake City area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Lake City, FL area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Lake City 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 $2.1M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Lake City area would have about 10, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,429 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Lake City, FL area growing?

Population estimates put the Lake City area at 74,094 people in 2025, up 6.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,430 households. The median household income in the Lake City area is $59,205 a year, 27% 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 Lake City area scores 44 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #269 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 Lake City 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 Lake City area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lake City 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 Lake City 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.