Auto · Metro area · Indiana
Car washes and detailers in the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area
The car washes and detailers in the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #149 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana
- Listings
- 39
- 10 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $92.7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,022 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.4M
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.3
- 13% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 228,468
- +2.1% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 39 car washes and detailers in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 26%, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 4.3 for every 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Households in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area spend about $92.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,022 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. Spread across 39 car washes and detailers, that is $2.4M per location, 6% below 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area classed as car washes. That is one for every 7,559 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $2.8M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area.
Population estimates show the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area grew 2.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area is 57 (upper middle), #149 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana.
How the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area compares
The same measures for Indiana 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 | Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.4M | $2.7M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,559 | 6,513 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +12.4% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,022 | $1,072 | $958 |
| Median household income | $62,011 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 78
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3910 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 37The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $2.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 228,468+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 90,706
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 58%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,642 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 138
- Median household income
- $62,011+16.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,994
- Median home value
- $226,100
- Jobs located here
- 106,732
- Daytime population
- 234,551Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 Indiana
Every Indiana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Indiana for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Indiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Indiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 74 | 302 | 3.6 | $3M | +5.4% | #28 of 387 |
| 2Fort Wayne, IN | 73 | 62 | 3.4 | $3.1M | +3.9% | #34 of 387 |
| 3Bloomington, IN | 68 | 22 | 3.2 | $3M | +2.0% | #57 of 387 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 67 | 311 | 3.4 | $3.1M | +2.7% | #66 of 387 |
| 4Columbus, IN | 64 | 15 | 4.5 | $2.6M | +4.3% | #90 of 387 |
| 5South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | 61 | 42 | 3.3 | $3.1M | +0.1% | #114 of 387 |
| 6Muncie, IN | 60 | 13 | 2.8 | $3.5M | +1.2% | #119 of 387 |
| 7Terre Haute, IN | 58 | 26 | 3.9 | $2.6M | +0.3% | #131 of 387 |
| 8Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 57 | 39 | 4.3 | $2.4M | +2.1% | #149 of 387 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 56 | 1,177 | 3.2 | $3M | 0.0% | #153 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 care70
- Auto repair shops67
- Collision repair and body shops62
- Car washes and detailing57
- Tire shops68
- Oil change and quick lube56
- Gas stations50
- Insurance agencies34
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 Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area?
There are 39 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area as of September 2026. 10 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $92.7M a year, or $1,022 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 39 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.4M 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 90,706 households in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area has 4.3 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.4M, 6% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area would have about 37, against 39 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,559 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area at 228,468 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,706 households. Median household income in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area is $62,011, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.3%, 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area scores 57 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #149 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette 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.