Auto · Metro area · Illinois
Car washes and detailers in the Rockford, IL metro area
The car washes and detailers in the Rockford, IL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #79 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 46
- 15 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $134.7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $994 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.9M
- 16% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.4
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 337,242
- −0.3% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Rockford 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 Rockford 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
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Rockford metro area comes to about $134.7M a year: $994 per household, 4% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.9M of household spending for each location on map listings, 16% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The Rockford metro area has 46 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 15 are chain locations, or 33%, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 3.4 for every 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Rockford metro area was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 9,677 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Rockford metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For car washes and detailers, the Rockford metro area has a Groundwork market score of 65 (upper middle): #79 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Rockford metro 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.
| Measure | Rockford metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.9M | $2.7M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 9,677 | 6,432 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.6% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.3% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $994 | $975 | $958 |
| Median household income | $68,033 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 183
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4615 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 54The 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 Rockford 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 Rockford metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 337,242−0.3% since 2020
- Households
- 135,474
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 794 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 424
- Median household income
- $68,033+21.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,321
- Median home value
- $171,300
- Jobs located here
- 135,218
- Daytime population
- 319,715Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Rockford 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 Rockford 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas 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 Rockford metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rockford, IL | 65 | 46 | 3.4 | $2.9M | −0.3% | #79 of 387 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 57 | 463 | 4.0 | $2.6M | −0.2% | #146 of 387 |
| 2Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 56 | 1,177 | 3.2 | $3M | 0.0% | #153 of 387 |
| 3Champaign-Urbana, IL | 52 | 43 | 4.4 | $2.1M | +1.5% | #181 of 387 |
| 4Bloomington, IL | 51 | 26 | 3.7 | $2.8M | +0.1% | #184 of 387 |
| 5Springfield, IL | 45 | 35 | 3.9 | $2.6M | −1.2% | #237 of 387 |
| 6Decatur, IL | 42 | 16 | 3.7 | $2.5M | −4.3% | #258 of 387 |
| 7Kankakee, IL | 38 | 21 | 5.1 | $2.1M | −1.7% | #288 of 387 |
| Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 38 | 26 | 6.8 | $1.6M | +1.7% | #293 of 387 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 36 | 73 | 4.5 | $2.3M | −0.9% | #303 of 387 |
Other business types in the Rockford 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 care34
- Auto repair shops29
- Collision repair and body shops34
- Car washes and detailing65
- Tire shops47
- Oil change and quick lube32
- Gas stations21
- Insurance agencies16
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 Rockford, IL metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 46 car washes and detailers in the Rockford metro area. 15 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Rockford, IL metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $134.7M a year, or $994 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 46 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.9M 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 135,474 households in the Rockford metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Rockford, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Rockford 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 $2.9M, 16% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Rockford metro area would have about 54, against 46 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 9,677 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Rockford, IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Rockford metro area at 337,242 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 135,474 households. The median household income in the Rockford metro area is $68,033 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.4% 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. 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 Rockford metro area scores 65 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #79 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 Rockford 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 Rockford metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rockford 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 Rockford 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.