Auto · Small-town market · Kansas
Car washes and detailers in the Emporia, KS area
How the Emporia, KS 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #283 of 441 scored small-town markets
#7 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Kansas
- Listings
- 9
- 3 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.8M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,080 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.8M
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.2
- 63% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 34,838
- +0.4% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Emporia 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 Emporia 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
At $1,080 per household (13% above the U.S. average), households in the Emporia area spend about $15.8M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 9 car washes and detailers, that is $1.8M per location, 30% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The Emporia area has 9 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. That is 6.2 per 10,000 households, 63% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Emporia area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 4,876 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Emporia area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Emporia area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #283 of 441 scored small-town markets and #7 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Kansas.
How the Emporia area compares
The same measures for Kansas 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 | Emporia area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.2 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.8M | $2.8M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,876 | 5,618 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +30.6% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,080 | $1,140 | $958 |
| Median household income | $59,354 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 56
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 93 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The 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 Emporia 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 Emporia area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 34,838+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 14,628
- Median age
- 37.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,621 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 21
- Median household income
- $59,354+28.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,516
- Median home value
- $146,700
- Jobs located here
- 16,443
- Daytime population
- 32,429Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Emporia 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 Emporia 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 Kansas
Every Kansas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Emporia area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pittsburg, KS | 69 | 5 | 3.2 | $3.3M | +0.1% | #79 of 441 |
| 2Salina, KS | 54 | 9 | 3.6 | $3M | −1.4% | #182 of 441 |
| 3Arkansas City-Winfield, KS | 48 | 7 | 5.2 | $2.1M | −0.4% | #234 of 441 |
| 4Great Bend, KS | 45 | 5 | 4.8 | $2.2M | −2.5% | #259 of 441 |
| 5Hutchinson, KS | 44 | 13 | 5.1 | $2.2M | −0.6% | #267 of 441 |
| 6McPherson, KS | 44 | 8 | 6.6 | $1.8M | −0.4% | #272 of 441 |
| 7Emporia, KS | 43 | 9 | 6.2 | $1.8M | +0.4% | #283 of 441 |
| 8Dodge City, KS | 30 | 10 | 8.5 | $1.4M | −0.6% | #378 of 441 |
| 9Garden City, KS | 26 | 12 | 9.1 | $1.3M | −2.1% | #402 of 441 |
| 10Liberal, KS | 20 | 8 | 11.0 | $983K | −3.6% | #418 of 441 |
Other business types in the Emporia 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 care53
- Auto repair shops51
- Collision repair and body shops
- Car washes and detailing43
- Tire shops44
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations53
- Insurance agencies19
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 Emporia, KS area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 9 car washes and detailers in the Emporia area. 3 of them (33%) 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 Emporia, KS area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $15.8M a year, or $1,080 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.8M 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 14,628 households in the Emporia area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Emporia, KS area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Emporia area has 6.2 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 63% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.8M, 30% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Emporia area would have about 6, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,876 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Emporia, KS area growing?
Population estimates put the Emporia area at 34,838 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 14,628 households. The median household income in the Emporia area is $59,354 a year, 26% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.4% 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. 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 Emporia area scores 43 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #283 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 Emporia 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 Emporia area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Emporia 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 Emporia 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.