Auto · Small-town market · Kentucky
Car washes and detailers in the Frankfort, KY area
How the Frankfort, KY 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #106 of 441 scored small-town markets
#4 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 11
- 4 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $29.6M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $913 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.4
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 77,874
- +3.1% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Frankfort 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 Frankfort 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 $913 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in the Frankfort area spend about $29.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $2.7M of household spending for each location on map listings, 7% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The Frankfort area has 11 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 36% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 3.4 per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Frankfort area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 6,474 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $495K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Frankfort area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Frankfort area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Frankfort area is 65 (upper middle), #106 of 441 scored small-town markets and #4 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Frankfort 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 | Frankfort area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 6,474 | 8,100 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.8% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $913 | $889 | $958 |
| Median household income | $68,568 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 29
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $698K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 114 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $495K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Frankfort 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 Frankfort area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 77,874+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 32,371
- Median age
- 41.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 410 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 186
- Median household income
- $68,568+22.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,626
- Median home value
- $219,900
- Jobs located here
- 40,911
- Daytime population
- 82,633Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Frankfort 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 Frankfort 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 small-town markets in Kentucky for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with the Frankfort area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Richmond-Berea, KY | 69 | 18 | 3.6 | $2.5M | +7.0% | #82 of 441 |
| 2Mount Sterling, KY | 67 | 6 | 3.3 | $2.8M | +3.1% | #91 of 441 |
| 3Danville, KY | 65 | 7 | 3.2 | $2.8M | +3.6% | #105 of 441 |
| 4Frankfort, KY | 65 | 11 | 3.4 | $2.7M | +3.1% | #106 of 441 |
| 5Corbin, KY | 58 | 20 | 3.5 | $2.4M | +0.1% | #152 of 441 |
| 6Glasgow, KY | 58 | 9 | 4.1 | $2.2M | +2.6% | #153 of 441 |
| 7Mayfield, KY | 52 | 5 | 3.5 | $2.5M | +1.4% | #198 of 441 |
| 8Henderson, KY | 49 | 9 | 3.8 | $2.3M | −0.9% | #225 of 441 |
| 9Pikeville, KY | 45 | 9 | 2.3 | $3.5M | −5.4% | #255 of 441 |
| 10Murray, KY | 43 | 7 | 4.6 | $1.8M | +4.9% | #282 of 441 |
Other business types in the Frankfort 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 care58
- Auto repair shops56
- Collision repair and body shops56
- Car washes and detailing65
- Tire shops64
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations55
- Insurance agencies71
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 Frankfort, KY area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 car washes and detailers in the Frankfort area. 4 of them (36%) 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 the Frankfort, KY area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $29.6M a year, or $913 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 32,371 households in the Frankfort area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Frankfort, KY area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Frankfort area has 3.4 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.7M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Frankfort area would have about 12, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,474 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Frankfort, KY area growing?
Population estimates put the Frankfort area at 77,874 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 32,371 households. The median household income in the Frankfort area is $68,568 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.4% 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 Frankfort area scores 65 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #106 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 Frankfort 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 Frankfort area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Frankfort 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 Frankfort 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.