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Car washes and detailers in Muscatine County, IA

How Muscatine County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #978 of 1,451 scored counties
#15 of 32 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
8
2 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$19.6M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,132 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.6
21% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
41,853
−3.0% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Muscatine County

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 Muscatine County. 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

Households in Muscatine County spend about $19.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,132 per household, 18% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each location on map listings, 3% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

Muscatine County has 8 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 25%, against 23% across the U.S. That is 4.6 per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in Muscatine County was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 3,469 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Muscatine County from 2020 to 2025 at −3.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in Muscatine County is 40 (lower middle), #978 of 1,451 scored counties and #15 of 32 scored counties in Iowa.

How Muscatine County 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.

Car washes and detailing in Muscatine County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureMuscatine CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.65.13.8
Spending per listing$2.5M$2.2M$2.5M
Households per official establishment3,4694,3576,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+17.1%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.0%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,132$1,134$958
Median household income$69,396$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score4034

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 5
Employees, 2023
35
Annual payroll, 2023
$778K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
82 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 Muscatine County, 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 Muscatine County

Population, 2025 estimate
41,853−3.0% since 2020
Households
17,345
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
437 sq. mi.
People per square mile
97
Median household income
$69,396+18.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,373
Median home value
$182,100
Jobs located here
21,008
Daytime population
43,232Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Muscatine County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Muscatine County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Car washes and detailing across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Muscatine County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warren County, IA9652.4$5.2M+9.0%#1 of 1,451
2Marion County, IA6086.0$2.1M+2.3%#474 of 1,451
3Story County, IA59153.9$2.8M+2.7%#481 of 1,451
4Johnson County, IA59304.7$2.2M+4.6%#501 of 1,451
5Dallas County, IA59276.4$1.9M+17.8%#505 of 1,451
6Jasper County, IA5853.3$3.6M+0.9%#507 of 1,451
7Sioux County, IA5175.5$2.4M+2.5%#700 of 1,451
8Clinton County, IA51105.1$2.2M−0.9%#707 of 1,451
9Polk County, IA481125.5$2M+4.8%#785 of 1,451
10Des Moines County, IA4563.5$3M−2.0%#843 of 1,451
15Muscatine County, IA4084.6$2.5M−3.0%#978 of 1,451

Other business types in Muscatine County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Muscatine County, IA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 car washes and detailers in Muscatine County. 2 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in Muscatine County, IA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $19.6M a year, or $1,132 per household. That is 18% above the U.S. average (an index of 118, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.5M 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 17,345 households in Muscatine County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Muscatine County, IA compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

Muscatine County has 4.6 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.5M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,469 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Muscatine County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Muscatine County at 41,853 people in 2025, down 3.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,345 households. The median household income in Muscatine County is $69,396 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.7% 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. Muscatine County scores 40 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #978 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Muscatine County. 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 Muscatine County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Muscatine County?

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 Muscatine County. 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.