Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Minnesota

Car washes and detailers in the Fairmont, MN area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #340 of 441 scored small-town markets
#14 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota

Listings
5
1 chain location (20%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$9.3M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,052 a household
Spending per listing
$1.9M
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.7
50% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
19,440
−2.8% since 2020

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

The Fairmont area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #340 of 441 scored small-town markets and #14 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 car washes and detailers in the Fairmont area. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 5.7 for every 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Households in the Fairmont area spend about $9.3M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,052 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.9M of household spending for each location on map listings, 26% below 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 Fairmont area: counts under 3 aren’t published. Population estimates put the population change in the Fairmont area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Fairmont area compares

The same measures for Minnesota 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 Fairmont, MN area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureFairmont areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.73.73.8
Spending per listing$1.9M$3M$2.5M
Households per official establishmentn/a9,9486,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+32.6%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.8%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,052$1,108$958
Median household income$59,507$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score3577

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
4The 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 Fairmont 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 Fairmont area

Population, 2025 estimate
19,440−2.8% since 2020
Households
8,839
Median age
44.1
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
712 sq. mi.
People per square mile
28
Median household income
$59,507+12.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,458
Median home value
$163,500
Jobs located here
8,052
Daytime population
18,159Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fairmont 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 Fairmont 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with the Fairmont area marked.

Top small-town markets in Minnesota

Small-town markets in Minnesota ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Brainerd, MN87163.8$3M+4.3%#6 of 441
2Faribault-Northfield, MN8683.4$3.4M+4.2%#7 of 441
3Detroit Lakes, MN7964.2$3M+0.9%#20 of 441
4Bemidji, MN7752.8$4.1M+1.8%#26 of 441
5Grand Rapids, MN7773.8$3.1M+0.9%#27 of 441
6Fergus Falls, MN77114.4$2.7M+1.6%#28 of 441
7Red Wing, MN7684.1$2.9M+1.3%#38 of 441
8Willmar, MN7574.0$2.9M+2.3%#44 of 441
9Winona, MN6294.4$2.5M+1.8%#128 of 441
10Hutchinson, MN6163.9$3M−0.3%#130 of 441
14Fairmont, MN3555.7$1.9M−2.8%#340 of 441

Other business types in the Fairmont 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 Fairmont, MN area?

There are 5 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Fairmont area 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 Fairmont area: counts under 3 are left out.

How much do households in the Fairmont, MN area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $9.3M a year, or $1,052 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.9M 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 8,839 households in the Fairmont area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Fairmont area has 5.7 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.9M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Fairmont area would have about 4, against 5 on map listings.

How fast is the Fairmont, MN area growing?

Population estimates put the Fairmont area at 19,440 people in 2025, down 2.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,839 households. Median household income in the Fairmont area is $59,507, 26% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 12.7%, 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 Fairmont area scores 35 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #340 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 Fairmont 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 Fairmont area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fairmont 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 Fairmont 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.