Auto · Small-town market · Iowa
Car washes and detailers in the Le Mars, IA area
How the Le Mars, IA 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 33 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #356 of 441 scored small-town markets
#12 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 11
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $13M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,258 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 53% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.7
- 2.8 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 25,697
- 0.0% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Le Mars 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 Le Mars 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
The Le Mars area scores 33 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #356 of 441 scored small-town markets and #12 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $1,258 per household (31% above the U.S. average), households in the Le Mars area spend about $13M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $1.2M of household spending for each location on map listings, 53% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The Le Mars area has 11 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. That is 10.7 per 10,000 households, 2.8 times the U.S. rate of 3.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Le Mars area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 3,438 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Le Mars area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Le Mars area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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 | Le Mars area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.7 | 5.1 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,438 | 4,357 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +17.1% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,258 | $1,134 | $958 |
| Median household income | $83,251 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 33 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 15
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $544K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 110 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 Le Mars 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 Le Mars area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 25,6970.0% since 2020
- Households
- 10,313
- Median age
- 41.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 863 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 30
- Median household income
- $83,251
- Average household income
- $101,116
- Median home value
- $228,900
- Jobs located here
- 12,334
- Daytime population
- 23,763Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Le Mars 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 Le Mars 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Le Mars area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pella, IA | 68 | 8 | 6.0 | $2.1M | +2.3% | #87 of 441 |
| 2Clinton, IA | 56 | 10 | 5.1 | $2.2M | −0.9% | #167 of 441 |
| 3Spirit Lake, IA | 50 | 5 | 5.7 | $2.1M | +1.7% | #220 of 441 |
| 4Burlington, IA-IL | 47 | 7 | 3.5 | $3.1M | −2.5% | #239 of 441 |
| 5Muscatine, IA | 45 | 8 | 4.6 | $2.5M | −3.0% | #256 of 441 |
| 6Mason City, IA | 44 | 11 | 4.8 | $2.3M | −1.5% | #266 of 441 |
| 7Oskaloosa, IA | 43 | 5 | 5.7 | $2.1M | −1.2% | #278 of 441 |
| 8Fort Madison, IA | 43 | 8 | 5.6 | $2M | −3.6% | #281 of 441 |
| 9Fort Dodge, IA | 38 | 11 | 7.2 | $1.5M | −0.4% | #320 of 441 |
| 10Storm Lake, IA | 36 | 6 | 8.0 | $1.5M | −1.7% | #335 of 441 |
| 12Le Mars, IA | 33 | 11 | 10.7 | $1.2M | 0.0% | #356 of 441 |
Other business types in the Le Mars 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 care49
- Auto repair shops55
- Collision repair and body shops45
- Car washes and detailing33
- Tire shops
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations68
- Insurance agencies26
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 Le Mars, IA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 car washes and detailers in the Le Mars area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Le Mars, IA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $13M a year, or $1,258 per household. That is 31% above the U.S. average (an index of 131, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.2M 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 10,313 households in the Le Mars area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Le Mars, IA area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Le Mars area has 10.7 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 2.8 times the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.2M, 53% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Le Mars area would have about 5, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,438 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Le Mars, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Le Mars area at 25,697 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,313 households. The median household income in the Le Mars area is $83,251 a year, 3% above 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 Le Mars area scores 33 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #356 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 Le Mars 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 Le Mars area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Le Mars 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 Le Mars 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.