Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Illinois

Car washes and detailers in the Effingham, IL area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #325 of 441 scored small-town markets
#8 of 19 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
11
4 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$21.2M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,172 a household
Spending per listing
$1.9M
23% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.1
61% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
44,727
−0.9% since 2020

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

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Effingham area comes to about $21.2M a year: $1,172 per household, 22% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.9M of household spending for each location on map listings, 23% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

There are 11 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Effingham area as of September 2026. 4 of them (36%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.1, 61% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Effingham area was 9 in 2023. That is one for every 2,014 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Effingham area declined 0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Effingham area is 37 (lower middle), #325 of 441 scored small-town markets and #8 of 19 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.

How the Effingham area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Effingham, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureEffingham areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.13.63.8
Spending per listing$1.9M$2.7M$2.5M
Households per official establishment2,0146,4326,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.6%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.9%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,172$975$958
Median household income$79,157$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3746

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9
Employees, 2023
142
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
114 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The 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 Effingham 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 Effingham area

Population, 2025 estimate
44,727−0.9% since 2020
Households
18,128
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
825 sq. mi.
People per square mile
54
Median household income
$79,157
Average household income
$96,833
Median home value
$172,400
Jobs located here
25,606
Daytime population
48,326Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Effingham 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 Effingham 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Effingham area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Jacksonville, IL6053.3$3.2M−3.1%#135 of 441
2Canton, IL6053.6$2.9M−2.0%#136 of 441
3Dixon, IL5753.7$2.9M−3.4%#157 of 441
4Centralia, IL5063.9$2.6M−3.4%#218 of 441
Burlington, IA-IL4773.5$3.1M−2.5%#239 of 441
5Rochelle, IL46146.7$1.6M−0.7%#253 of 441
6Ottawa, IL41426.8$1.6M−1.6%#300 of 441
7Marion-Herrin, IL37155.2$2M+0.2%#324 of 441
8Effingham, IL37116.1$1.9M−0.9%#325 of 441
9Sterling, IL32114.8$2.2M−2.6%#357 of 441

Other business types in the Effingham 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 Effingham, IL area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 11 car washes and detailers in the Effingham area. 4 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in the Effingham, IL area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $21.2M a year, or $1,172 per household. That is 22% above the U.S. average (an index of 122, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.9M 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 18,128 households in the Effingham area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Effingham area has 6.1 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.9M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Effingham area would have about 8, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,014 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Effingham, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Effingham area at 44,727 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 18,128 households. The median household income in the Effingham area is $79,157 a year, 2% below 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 Effingham area scores 37 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #325 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 Effingham 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 Effingham area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Effingham 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 Effingham 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.