Auto · Small-town market · Michigan
Car washes and detailers in the Houghton, MI area
The car washes and detailers in the Houghton, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.
- Listings
- 3
- 1 chain location (33%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $15.8M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,021 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5.3M
- 2.1 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 1.9
- 50% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 40,028
- +1.8% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Houghton 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 Houghton 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 3 car washes and detailers in the Houghton area. That comes to 1.9 for every 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
At $1,021 per household (7% above the U.S. average), households in the Houghton area spend about $15.8M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $5.3M of household spending for each location on map listings, 2.1 times 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 Houghton area: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Population estimates put the population change in the Houghton area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 3 car washes and detailers on map listings, the Houghton area isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How the Houghton 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 | Houghton area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 1.9 | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $5.3M | $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 | +1.8% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,021 | $1,022 | $958 |
| Median household income | $58,128 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 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
- 31 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The 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 Houghton 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 Houghton area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 40,028+1.8% since 2020
- Households
- 15,440
- Median age
- 37.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,549 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 26
- Median household income
- $58,128+31.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $80,984
- Median home value
- $160,800
- Jobs located here
- 12,154
- Daytime population
- 38,592Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Houghton 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 Houghton 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 Houghton 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 |
| Houghton, MI | Not scored | 3 | 1.9 | $5.3M | +1.8% |
Other business types in the Houghton 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 care58
- Auto repair shops57
- Collision repair and body shops43
- Car washes and detailing
- Tire shops69
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations46
- 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 Houghton, MI area?
There are 3 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Houghton area as of September 2026. The listings count car washes and detailers. No official count is published for car washes in the Houghton area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Houghton, MI area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $15.8M a year, or $1,021 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $5.3M 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 15,440 households in the Houghton area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Houghton, MI area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Houghton area has 1.9 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $5.3M, 2.1 times the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Houghton area would have about 6, against 3 on map listings.
How fast is the Houghton, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Houghton area at 40,028 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,440 households. Median household income in the Houghton area is $58,128, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.5%, 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 Houghton area has no market score for car washes and detailers: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Houghton 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 Houghton area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Houghton 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 Houghton 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.