Auto · Metro area · Kentucky
Car washes and detailers in the Elizabethtown, KY metro area
How the Elizabethtown, KY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #224 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 22
- 5 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $45.5M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $899 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.1M
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.3
- 13% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,666
- +2.4% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown 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 22 car washes and detailers in the Elizabethtown metro area. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 23%, against 23% across the U.S. That is 4.3 per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Households in the Elizabethtown metro area spend about $45.5M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $899 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each location on map listings, 18% 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 6 businesses with payroll in the Elizabethtown metro area classed as car washes. That is one for every 8,436 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $262K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Elizabethtown metro area.
Population estimates show the Elizabethtown metro area grew 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Elizabethtown metro area scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #224 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.
How the Elizabethtown metro area compares
The same measures for Kentucky 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 | Elizabethtown metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.1M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 8,436 | 8,100 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.8% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $899 | $889 | $958 |
| Median household income | $67,534 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6
- Employees, 2023
- 89
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 225 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 18The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $262K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,666+2.4% since 2020
- Households
- 50,618
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 885 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 144
- Median household income
- $67,534
- Average household income
- $91,469
- Median home value
- $218,800
- Jobs located here
- 45,441
- Daytime population
- 119,051Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Elizabethtown metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 67 | 311 | 3.4 | $3.1M | +2.7% | #66 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 51 | 51 | 3.4 | $2.6M | −2.6% | #185 of 387 |
| 1Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 48 | 242 | 4.3 | $2.1M | +2.9% | #217 of 387 |
| 2Elizabethtown, KY | 47 | 22 | 4.3 | $2.1M | +2.4% | #224 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 46 | 53 | 4.2 | $2.2M | +8.5% | #233 of 387 |
| 3Lexington-Fayette, KY | 44 | 93 | 4.3 | $2M | +3.4% | #248 of 387 |
| 4Bowling Green, KY | 43 | 33 | 4.5 | $2M | +9.5% | #254 of 387 |
| 5Owensboro, KY | 41 | 16 | 3.5 | $2.5M | +1.3% | #267 of 387 |
| 6Paducah, KY-IL | 14 | 23 | 5.5 | $1.7M | −1.2% | #380 of 387 |
Other business types in the Elizabethtown 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 care48
- Auto repair shops51
- Collision repair and body shops62
- Car washes and detailing47
- Tire shops26
- Oil change and quick lube20
- Gas stations33
- Insurance agencies81
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 Elizabethtown, KY metro area?
There are 22 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Elizabethtown metro area as of September 2026. 5 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Elizabethtown, KY metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $45.5M a year, or $899 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.1M 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 50,618 households in the Elizabethtown metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Elizabethtown, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Elizabethtown 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 $2.1M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Elizabethtown metro area would have about 18, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,436 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Elizabethtown, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Elizabethtown metro area at 128,666 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 50,618 households. Median household income in the Elizabethtown metro area is $67,534, 16% below 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. 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 Elizabethtown metro area scores 47 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #224 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 Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown 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.