Auto · Small-town market · Florida
Car washes and detailers in the Palatka, FL area
How the Palatka, FL 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #90 of 441 scored small-town markets
#1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Florida
- Listings
- 9
- 2 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $25.5M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $812 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.8M
- 12% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.9
- 24% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 77,734
- +5.9% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Palatka 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 Palatka 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
Households in the Palatka area spend about $25.5M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $812 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. Spread across 9 car washes and detailers, that is $2.8M per location, 12% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The Palatka area has 9 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.9, 24% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Palatka area was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 7,840 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $740K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Palatka area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Palatka area from 2020 to 2025 at +5.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Palatka area is 67 (upper middle), #90 of 441 scored small-town markets and #1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Florida. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Palatka 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.
| Measure | Palatka area | Florida | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.8M | $2.1M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,840 | 5,247 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +29.4% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.9% | +8.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $812 | $835 | $958 |
| Median household income | $47,934 | $74,568 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 67 | 27 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 55
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 92 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
- 1
- Amount
- $740K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Palatka 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 Palatka area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 77,734+5.9% since 2020
- Households
- 31,360
- Median age
- 44.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 728 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 103
- Median household income
- $47,934+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $68,007
- Median home value
- $160,300
- Jobs located here
- 17,308
- Daytime population
- 63,587Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Palatka 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 Palatka 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 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 Palatka area marked.
Top small-town markets in Florida
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Palatka, FL | 67 | 9 | 2.9 | $2.8M | +5.9% | #90 of 441 |
| 2Lake City, FL | 44 | 12 | 4.4 | $2.1M | +6.2% | #269 of 441 |
| 3Okeechobee, FL | 42 | 6 | 4.0 | $2.1M | +7.4% | #287 of 441 |
| 4Key West-Key Largo, FL | 32 | 18 | 5.2 | $1.6M | −2.9% | #363 of 441 |
Other business types in the Palatka 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 care67
- Auto repair shops67
- Collision repair and body shops75
- Car washes and detailing67
- Tire shops54
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations61
- Insurance agencies88
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 Palatka, FL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 9 car washes and detailers in the Palatka area. 2 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Palatka, FL area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $25.5M a year, or $812 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 31,360 households in the Palatka area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Palatka, FL area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Palatka area has 2.9 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.8M, 12% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Palatka area would have about 10, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,840 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Palatka, FL area growing?
Population estimates put the Palatka area at 77,734 people in 2025, up 5.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 31,360 households. The median household income in the Palatka area is $47,934 a year, 41% 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 Palatka area scores 67 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #90 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 Palatka 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 Palatka area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Palatka 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 Palatka 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.