Auto · Small-town market · Iowa
Car washes and detailers in the Pella, IA area
How the Pella, 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 68 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #87 of 441 scored small-town markets
#1 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 8
- 1 chain location (13%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $16.9M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,268 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.1M
- 16% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.0
- 58% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 34,192
- +2.3% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Pella 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 Pella 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 Pella area comes to about $16.9M a year: $1,268 per household, 32% above the U.S. average. That works out to $2.1M per location, 16% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The Pella area has 8 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (13%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 6.0 for every 10,000 households, 58% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for car washes in the Pella area, since they leave out counts under 3.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Pella area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Pella area scores 68 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #87 of 441 scored small-town markets and #1 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Pella 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 | Pella area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.0 | 5.1 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.1M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 4,357 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +17.1% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,268 | $1,134 | $958 |
| Median household income | $78,680 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 68 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 81 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 Pella 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 Pella area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 34,192+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 13,316
- Median age
- 40.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 555 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 61
- Median household income
- $78,680+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $100,547
- Median home value
- $233,000
- Jobs located here
- 19,073
- Daytime population
- 36,093Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Pella 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 Pella 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 Pella 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 |
Other business types in the Pella 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 care69
- Auto repair shops79
- Collision repair and body shops
- Car washes and detailing68
- Tire shops58
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations77
- Insurance agencies59
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 Pella, IA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 car washes and detailers in the Pella area. One of them (13%) is a chain location. The listings count car washes and detailers. No official count is published for car washes in the Pella area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Pella, IA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $16.9M a year, or $1,268 per household. That is 32% above the U.S. average (an index of 132, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.1M 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 13,316 households in the Pella area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Pella, IA area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Pella area has 6.0 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 58% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.1M, 16% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Pella area would have about 7, against 8 on map listings.
How fast is the Pella, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Pella area at 34,192 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,316 households. The median household income in the Pella area is $78,680 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.9% 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. 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 Pella area scores 68 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #87 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 Pella 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 Pella area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pella 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 Pella 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.