Auto · County · Michigan
Car washes and detailers in Kalkaska County, MI
The car washes and detailers in Kalkaska County, MI, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 2.
- Listings
- 2
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $8.4M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,083 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.2M
- Too few listings to compare
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.6
- Too few listings to compare
- Population, 2025
- 18,693
- +4.3% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in Kalkaska County
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 Kalkaska County. 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 2 car washes and detailers in Kalkaska County. That is 2.6 per 10,000 households.
At $1,083 per household (13% above the U.S. average), households in Kalkaska County spend about $8.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 2 car washes and detailers, that is $4.2M per location. 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 Kalkaska County was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 2,596 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
Population estimates show Kalkaska County grew 4.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 2 car washes and detailers on map listings, Kalkaska County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How Kalkaska County 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 | Kalkaska County | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.6 | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.2M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,596 | 6,102 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.2% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,083 | $1,022 | $958 |
| Median household income | $68,578 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 3
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $35K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 20 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3The 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 Kalkaska County, 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 Kalkaska County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,693+4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 7,789
- Median age
- 44.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 88%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 560 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $68,578+46.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,688
- Median home value
- $188,900
- Jobs located here
- 4,285
- Daytime population
- 15,796Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Kalkaska County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Kalkaska County. 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 counties in Michigan for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Michigan, with Kalkaska County marked.
Top counties in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Clinton County, MI | 82 | 11 | 3.5 | $3.5M | +1.6% | #49 of 1,451 |
| 2Livingston County, MI | 75 | 28 | 3.7 | $3.4M | +1.7% | #123 of 1,451 |
| 3Shiawassee County, MI | 71 | 10 | 3.6 | $3.1M | −0.4% | #204 of 1,451 |
| 4Hillsdale County, MI | 70 | 5 | 2.8 | $3.9M | 0.0% | #225 of 1,451 |
| 5Lapeer County, MI | 70 | 12 | 3.4 | $3.4M | +1.0% | #231 of 1,451 |
| 6Van Buren County, MI | 69 | 10 | 3.3 | $3.3M | +0.7% | #251 of 1,451 |
| 7Washtenaw County, MI | 68 | 45 | 3.0 | $3.4M | −0.4% | #274 of 1,451 |
| 8Eaton County, MI | 68 | 17 | 3.7 | $2.9M | +0.4% | #282 of 1,451 |
| 9Allegan County, MI | 68 | 22 | 4.8 | $2.5M | +2.1% | #290 of 1,451 |
| 10Ionia County, MI | 67 | 9 | 3.9 | $2.9M | −0.5% | #300 of 1,451 |
| Kalkaska County, MI | Not scored | 2 | 2.6 | $4.2M | +4.3% |
Other business types in Kalkaska County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
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 Kalkaska County, MI?
Kalkaska County has 2 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 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 Kalkaska County, MI spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $8.4M a year, or $1,083 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $4.2M 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 7,789 households in Kalkaska County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Kalkaska County, MI compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
Kalkaska County has 2 car washes and detailers on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Kalkaska County would have about 3, against 2 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,596 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is Kalkaska County, MI growing?
Population estimates put Kalkaska County at 18,693 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 7,789 households. Median household income in Kalkaska County is $68,578, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 46.2%, 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. Kalkaska County has no market score for car washes and detailers: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 2.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Kalkaska County. 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 Kalkaska County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Kalkaska County?
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 Kalkaska County. 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.