Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Michigan

Car washes and detailers in the Cadillac, MI area

The car washes and detailers in the Cadillac, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #247 of 441 scored small-town markets
#8 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
13
2 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$20.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,039 a household
Spending per listing
$1.6M
38% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.6
74% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,719
+2.0% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Cadillac 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 Cadillac 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

Households in the Cadillac area spend about $20.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,039 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.6M of household spending for each location on map listings, 38% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

The Cadillac area has 13 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (15%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 6.6 for every 10,000 households, 74% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Cadillac area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 6,535 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $150K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Cadillac area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Cadillac area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Cadillac area is 47 (lower middle), #247 of 441 scored small-town markets and #8 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.

How the Cadillac area compares

The same measures for Michigan 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 Cadillac, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureCadillac areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.64.63.8
Spending per listing$1.6M$2.2M$2.5M
Households per official establishment6,5356,1026,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.2%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.0%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,039$1,022$958
Median household income$62,015$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4731

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
17
Annual payroll, 2023
$350K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
132 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$150K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
49,719+2.0% since 2020
Households
19,605
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,130 sq. mi.
People per square mile
44
Median household income
$62,015+31.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,021
Median home value
$170,400
Jobs located here
16,131
Daytime population
48,433Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Cadillac 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 Cadillac 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 Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Cadillac area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Holland, MI76224.8$2.5M+2.1%#39 of 441
2Hillsdale, MI7352.8$3.9M0.0%#60 of 441
3Owosso, MI73103.6$3.1M−0.4%#64 of 441
Marinette, WI-MI63134.4$2.4M+0.3%#117 of 441
4Marquette, MI63124.2$2.4M+2.3%#118 of 441
5Adrian, MI59184.6$2.4M−1.6%#146 of 441
6Alma, MI5274.7$2.3M−1.1%#201 of 441
7Big Rapids, MI52106.0$1.8M+4.7%#210 of 441
8Cadillac, MI47136.6$1.6M+2.0%#247 of 441
9Mount Pleasant, MI46124.8$2.1M+0.3%#249 of 441

Other business types in the Cadillac 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 Cadillac, MI area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 13 car washes and detailers in the Cadillac area. 2 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in the Cadillac, MI area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $20.4M a year, or $1,039 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.6M 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 19,605 households in the Cadillac area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Cadillac, MI area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Cadillac area has 6.6 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 74% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.6M, 38% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Cadillac area would have about 8, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,535 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Cadillac, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Cadillac area at 49,719 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,605 households. The median household income in the Cadillac area is $62,015 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.4% 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 Cadillac area scores 47 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #247 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 Cadillac 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 Cadillac area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cadillac 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 Cadillac 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.