Auto · Metro area · Kentucky
Car washes and detailers in the Paducah, KY-IL metro area
The car washes and detailers in the Paducah, KY-IL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 14 out of 100: Low
Ranked #380 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 23
- 4 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $38.3M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $918 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.7M
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.5
- 45% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 102,259
- −1.2% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Paducah 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 Paducah 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
The Paducah metro area scores 14 (low) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #380 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 car washes and detailers in the Paducah metro area. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 17%, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 5.5 for every 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
At $918 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in the Paducah metro area spend about $38.3M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $1.7M per location, 34% 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.
Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Paducah metro area in 2023. That is one for every 3,794 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $365K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Paducah metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Paducah metro area declined 1.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Paducah 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 | Paducah metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.5 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.7M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,794 | 8,100 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.8% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.2% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $918 | $889 | $958 |
| Median household income | $64,160 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 14 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 70
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 234 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $365K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Paducah 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 Paducah metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 102,259−1.2% since 2020
- Households
- 41,735
- Median age
- 43.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,236 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 83
- Median household income
- $64,160
- Average household income
- $88,236
- Median home value
- $168,700
- Jobs located here
- 48,716
- Daytime population
- 107,914Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Paducah 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 Paducah 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 Paducah 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 Paducah 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 care13
- Auto repair shops15
- Collision repair and body shops12
- Car washes and detailing14
- Tire shops22
- Oil change and quick lube17
- Gas stations30
- Insurance agencies42
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 Paducah, KY-IL metro area?
There are 23 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Paducah metro area as of September 2026. 4 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Paducah, KY-IL metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $38.3M a year, or $918 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.7M 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 41,735 households in the Paducah metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Paducah, KY-IL metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Paducah metro area has 5.5 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.7M, 34% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Paducah metro area would have about 15, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,794 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Paducah, KY-IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Paducah metro area at 102,259 people in 2025, down 1.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 41,735 households. Median household income in the Paducah metro area is $64,160, 21% 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 Paducah metro area scores 14 for car washes and detailers (low), #380 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 Paducah 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 Paducah metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Paducah 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 Paducah 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.