Auto · Metro area · Georgia
Car washes and detailers in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area
How the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #126 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia
- Listings
- 29
- 8 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $82.5M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $958 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.8M
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.4
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 224,148
- +3.9% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 29 car washes and detailers in the Athens-Clarke County metro area. Chain locations make up 28% of them, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.4, 11% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area spend about $82.5M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $958 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $2.8M of household spending for each location on map listings, 13% 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 15 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Athens-Clarke County metro area in 2023. That is one for every 5,740 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Athens-Clarke County metro area grew 3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Athens-Clarke County metro area scores 59 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #126 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia.
How the Athens-Clarke County metro area compares
The same measures for Georgia 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 | Athens-Clarke County metro area | Georgia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.4 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.8M | $2.1M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 5,740 | 5,896 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +15.9% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.9% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $958 | $923 | $958 |
| Median household income | $65,608 | $77,353 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 35 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15
- Employees, 2023
- 121
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 298 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 33The 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 Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 224,148+3.9% since 2020
- Households
- 86,101
- Median age
- 36.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 56%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,025 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 215
- Median household income
- $65,608+39.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $94,551
- Median home value
- $310,200
- Jobs located here
- 94,787
- Daytime population
- 224,908Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Athens-Clarke County metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Georgia
Every Georgia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Georgia for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Georgia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Athens-Clarke County metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Georgia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | 67 | 84 | 3.6 | $2.6M | +5.3% | #71 of 387 |
| 1Dalton, GA | 60 | 22 | 4.2 | $2.3M | +3.5% | #125 of 387 |
| 2Athens-Clarke County, GA | 59 | 29 | 3.4 | $2.8M | +3.9% | #126 of 387 |
| 3Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 58 | 87 | 3.8 | $2.5M | +4.7% | #137 of 387 |
| 4Hinesville, GA | 56 | 13 | 4.3 | $2M | +12.6% | #162 of 387 |
| 5Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 48 | 1,001 | 4.3 | $2.2M | +5.9% | #213 of 387 |
| 6Savannah, GA | 39 | 85 | 5.3 | $1.7M | +8.1% | #286 of 387 |
| 7Valdosta, GA | 39 | 32 | 5.6 | $1.5M | +3.3% | #287 of 387 |
| 8Warner Robins, GA | 38 | 37 | 5.0 | $2M | +8.2% | #291 of 387 |
| 9Brunswick-St. Simons, GA | 35 | 23 | 4.9 | $1.8M | +4.4% | #308 of 387 |
Other business types in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 shops68
- Collision repair and body shops60
- Car washes and detailing59
- Tire shops43
- Oil change and quick lube71
- Gas stations52
- Insurance agencies68
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 Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area?
The Athens-Clarke County metro area has 29 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $82.5M a year, or $958 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 29 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 86,101 households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Athens-Clarke County metro area has 3.4 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.8M, 13% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Athens-Clarke County metro area would have about 33, against 29 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,740 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Athens-Clarke County metro area at 224,148 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,101 households. Median household income in the Athens-Clarke County metro area is $65,608, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 39.0%, 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. The Athens-Clarke County metro area scores 59 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #126 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro 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.