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Car washes and detailers in the Worcester, MA metro area

The car washes and detailers in the Worcester, MA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #229 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts

Listings
129
24 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
62
+21.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$305.1M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $909 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
6% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.8
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
888,502
+3.7% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Worcester 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 Worcester metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Worcester metro area comes to about $305.1M a year: $909 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Spread across 129 car washes and detailers, that is $2.4M per location, 6% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

There are 129 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Worcester metro area as of September 2026. 24 of them (19%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 3.8 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Worcester metro area was 62 in 2023, up 21.6% from 2019. That is one for every 5,417 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $3.4M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Worcester metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Worcester metro area grew 3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Worcester metro area scores 46 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #229 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts.

How the Worcester 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.

Car washes and detailing in Worcester, MA metro area compared with Massachusetts and the U.S.
MeasureWorcester metro areaMassachusettsU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.83.13.8
Spending per listing$2.4M$2.7M$2.5M
Households per official establishment5,4176,2596,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+21.6%+10.2%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.7%+2.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$909$841$958
Median household income$95,939$103,960$80,734
Groundwork market score4644

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
62+21.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
304
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
12924 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
121The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$3.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Worcester 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 Worcester metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
888,502+3.7% since 2020
Households
335,826
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,511 sq. mi.
People per square mile
574
Median household income
$95,939
Average household income
$124,653
Median home value
$423,700
Jobs located here
355,505
Daytime population
797,239Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Worcester 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 Worcester metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Car 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 Worcester metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Massachusetts

Metro areas in Massachusetts ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA78121.9$4.5M+10.4%#7 of 387
2Barnstable Town, MA53323.0$3.1M+2.4%#173 of 387
3Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH496053.1$2.7M+2.3%#195 of 387
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA482233.3$2.6M+2.1%#209 of 387
4Worcester, MA461293.8$2.4M+3.7%#229 of 387
5Springfield, MA33723.9$2M+0.2%#322 of 387
6Pittsfield, MA22213.6$2.2M−1.2%#367 of 387

Other business types in the Worcester metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in the Worcester, MA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 129 car washes and detailers in the Worcester metro area. 24 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 62 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023, up 21.6% from 2019.

How much do households in the Worcester, MA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $305.1M a year, or $909 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 129 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.4M 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 335,826 households in the Worcester metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Worcester, MA metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Worcester metro area has 3.8 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.4M, 6% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Worcester metro area would have about 121, against 129 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,417 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +16.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Worcester, MA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Worcester metro area at 888,502 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,826 households. The median household income in the Worcester metro area is $95,939 a year, 19% above 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 Worcester metro area scores 46 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #229 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 Worcester 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 Worcester metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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.