Auto · Metro area · Michigan
Car washes and detailers in the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area
The car washes and detailers in the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #99 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan
- Listings
- 70
- 16 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 25
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $194.8M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,003 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.8M
- 10% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.6
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 479,722
- +1.4% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Lansing-East Lansing 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 Lansing-East Lansing metro 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 70 car washes and detailers in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area. 16 of them (23%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.6, 5% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area comes to about $194.8M a year: $1,003 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. Spread across 70 car washes and detailers, that is $2.8M per location, 10% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area was 25 in 2023. That is one for every 7,767 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $3.6M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area.
Population estimates show the Lansing-East Lansing metro area grew 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Lansing-East Lansing metro area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #99 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.
How the Lansing-East Lansing metro 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 | Lansing-East Lansing metro area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.8M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,767 | 6,102 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.2% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.4% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,003 | $1,022 | $958 |
| Median household income | $72,550 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 25
- Employees, 2023
- 197
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7016 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 77The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $3.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Lansing-East Lansing 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 Lansing-East Lansing metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 479,722+1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 194,163
- Median age
- 38.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,699 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 278
- Median household income
- $72,550
- Average household income
- $94,775
- Median home value
- $216,700
- Jobs located here
- 232,664
- Daytime population
- 512,361Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lansing-East Lansing 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 Lansing-East Lansing metro 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 metro areas 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 Lansing-East Lansing metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ann Arbor, MI | 68 | 45 | 3.0 | $3.4M | −0.4% | #55 of 387 |
| 2Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 63 | 70 | 3.6 | $2.8M | +1.4% | #99 of 387 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | 61 | 42 | 3.3 | $3.1M | +0.1% | #114 of 387 |
| 3Bay City, MI | 55 | 15 | 3.3 | $3M | −1.6% | #163 of 387 |
| 4Monroe, MI | 55 | 33 | 5.2 | $2.1M | +0.7% | #167 of 387 |
| 5Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI | 54 | 32 | 4.7 | $2.1M | +1.8% | #172 of 387 |
| 6Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 45 | 237 | 5.4 | $2M | +2.8% | #243 of 387 |
| 7Traverse City, MI | 43 | 32 | 4.9 | $2.3M | +2.2% | #251 of 387 |
| 8Niles, MI | 40 | 35 | 5.5 | $1.8M | −1.3% | #276 of 387 |
| 9Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 39 | 800 | 4.5 | $2.2M | +0.1% | #278 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lansing-East Lansing metro 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 care68
- Auto repair shops73
- Collision repair and body shops61
- Car washes and detailing63
- Tire shops64
- Oil change and quick lube24
- Gas stations50
- Insurance agencies18
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 Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area?
The Lansing-East Lansing metro area has 70 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 16 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $194.8M a year, or $1,003 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 70 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 194,163 households in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Lansing-East Lansing metro area has 3.6 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.8M, 10% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Lansing-East Lansing metro area would have about 77, against 70 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,767 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lansing-East Lansing metro area at 479,722 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 194,163 households. Median household income in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area is $72,550, 10% below 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 Lansing-East Lansing metro area scores 63 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #99 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 Lansing-East Lansing 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 Lansing-East Lansing metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lansing-East Lansing 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 Lansing-East Lansing 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.