Auto · Small-town market · Michigan
Car washes and detailers in the Hillsdale, MI area
How the Hillsdale, MI 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 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #60 of 441 scored small-town markets
#2 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 5
- 1 chain location (20%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $19.4M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,087 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.9M
- 54% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.8
- 26% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 45,738
- 0.0% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 5 car washes and detailers in the Hillsdale area. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 2.8 for every 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Hillsdale area comes to about $19.4M a year: $1,087 per household, 13% above the U.S. average. That works out to $3.9M per location, 54% 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.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Hillsdale area: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Population estimates show the Hillsdale area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Hillsdale area is 73 (upper middle), #60 of 441 scored small-town markets and #2 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Hillsdale 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.
| Measure | Hillsdale area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.8 | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.9M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 6,102 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.2% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,087 | $1,022 | $958 |
| Median household income | $64,242 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 51 chain location
- 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
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 45,7380.0% since 2020
- Households
- 17,860
- Median age
- 43.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 598 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 76
- Median household income
- $64,242+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,816
- Median home value
- $176,100
- Jobs located here
- 12,372
- Daytime population
- 39,069Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale 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 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 Hillsdale area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 76 | 22 | 4.8 | $2.5M | +2.1% | #39 of 441 |
| 2Hillsdale, MI | 73 | 5 | 2.8 | $3.9M | 0.0% | #60 of 441 |
| 3Owosso, MI | 73 | 10 | 3.6 | $3.1M | −0.4% | #64 of 441 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 63 | 13 | 4.4 | $2.4M | +0.3% | #117 of 441 |
| 4Marquette, MI | 63 | 12 | 4.2 | $2.4M | +2.3% | #118 of 441 |
| 5Adrian, MI | 59 | 18 | 4.6 | $2.4M | −1.6% | #146 of 441 |
| 6Alma, MI | 52 | 7 | 4.7 | $2.3M | −1.1% | #201 of 441 |
| 7Big Rapids, MI | 52 | 10 | 6.0 | $1.8M | +4.7% | #210 of 441 |
| 8Cadillac, MI | 47 | 13 | 6.6 | $1.6M | +2.0% | #247 of 441 |
| 9Mount Pleasant, MI | 46 | 12 | 4.8 | $2.1M | +0.3% | #249 of 441 |
Other business types in the Hillsdale 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 care72
- Auto repair shops65
- Collision repair and body shops
- Car washes and detailing73
- Tire shops64
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations49
- Insurance agencies46
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 Hillsdale, MI area?
The Hillsdale area has 5 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count car washes and detailers. No official count is published for car washes in the Hillsdale area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Hillsdale, MI area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $19.4M a year, or $1,087 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $3.9M 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 17,860 households in the Hillsdale area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hillsdale, MI area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Hillsdale area has 2.8 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $3.9M, 54% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Hillsdale area would have about 8, against 5 on map listings.
How fast is the Hillsdale, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Hillsdale area at 45,738 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,860 households. Median household income in the Hillsdale area is $64,242, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.5%, 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 Hillsdale area scores 73 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #60 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 Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale 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.