Auto · Metro area · Massachusetts
Car washes and detailers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for car washes and detailers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #195 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 605
- 68 chain locations (11%)
- Official establishments
- 314
- +11.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.6B
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $841 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.1
- 18% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,034,221
- +2.3% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 605 car washes and detailers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area. 68 of them (11%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. That is 3.1 per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area comes to about $1.6B a year: $841 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.7M per location, 7% above 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area was 314 in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. That is one for every 6,181 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $15M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has a Groundwork market score of 49 (lower middle): #195 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts.
How the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $2.7M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 6,181 | 6,259 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.4% | +10.2% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $841 | $841 | $958 |
| Median household income | $115,863 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 44 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 314+11.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,725
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $76.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 60568 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 648The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 16
- Amount
- $15M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,034,221+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 1,940,688
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 3,486 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,421
- Median household income
- $115,863+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $159,721
- Median home value
- $646,300
- Jobs located here
- 2,811,395
- Daytime population
- 5,216,901Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 78 | 12 | 1.9 | $4.5M | +10.4% | #7 of 387 |
| 2Barnstable Town, MA | 53 | 32 | 3.0 | $3.1M | +2.4% | #173 of 387 |
| 3Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 49 | 605 | 3.1 | $2.7M | +2.3% | #195 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 48 | 223 | 3.3 | $2.6M | +2.1% | #209 of 387 |
| 4Worcester, MA | 46 | 129 | 3.8 | $2.4M | +3.7% | #229 of 387 |
| 5Springfield, MA | 33 | 72 | 3.9 | $2M | +0.2% | #322 of 387 |
| 6Pittsfield, MA | 22 | 21 | 3.6 | $2.2M | −1.2% | #367 of 387 |
Other business types in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 care44
- Auto repair shops35
- Collision repair and body shops17
- Car washes and detailing49
- Tire shops64
- Oil change and quick lube55
- Gas stations54
- Insurance agencies45
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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area?
There are 605 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area as of September 2026. 68 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 314 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019.
How much do households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $1.6B a year, or $841 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 605 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 1,940,688 households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has 3.1 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 18% 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 national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area would have about 648, against 605 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,181 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +16.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area at 5,034,221 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,940,688 households. Median household income in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is $115,863, 44% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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. 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area scores 49 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #195 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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.