Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Minnesota

Car washes and detailers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for car washes and detailers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 77 out of 100: High

Ranked #14 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota

Listings
518
222 chain locations (43%)
Official establishments
156
+39.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.6B
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,090 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
23% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.5
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
3,790,295
+2.6% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro 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 Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area is 77 (high), #14 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for car washes and detailers.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area comes to about $1.6B a year: $1,090 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. That works out to $3.1M per location, 23% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

There are 518 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area as of September 2026. 222 of them (43%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.5, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area was 156 in 2023, up 39.8% from 2019. That is one for every 9,470 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 20 SBA-backed loans worth $24.5M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.53.73.8
Spending per listing$3.1M$3M$2.5M
Households per official establishment9,4709,9486,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+39.8%+32.6%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.6%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,090$1,108$958
Median household income$99,833$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score7777

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
156+39.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,564
Annual payroll, 2023
$44.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
518222 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
639The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
20
Amount
$24.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
3,790,295+2.6% since 2020
Households
1,477,259
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
7,048 sq. mi.
People per square mile
527
Median household income
$99,833+24.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$131,158
Median home value
$374,000
Jobs located here
1,958,695
Daytime population
3,771,602Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro 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 metro areas in Minnesota for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Minnesota

Metro areas in Minnesota ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Duluth, MN-WI77352.9$3.7M+0.2%#12 of 387
2Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI775183.5$3.1M+2.6%#14 of 387
Sioux Falls, SD-MN77554.5$2.6M+9.5%#15 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN76233.2$3.3M+0.4%#18 of 387
3Rochester, MN74384.1$2.8M+2.0%#30 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN72133.0$3.5M+0.8%#37 of 387
4Mankato, MN60184.4$2.5M+1.2%#123 of 387
5St. Cloud, MN58445.6$2M+3.0%#142 of 387
Fargo, ND-MN45676.1$1.7M+7.7%#245 of 387

Other business types in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 518 car washes and detailers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area. 222 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 156 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023, up 39.8% from 2019.

How much do households in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $1.6B a year, or $1,090 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 518 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $3.1M per location. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which car washes and detailers share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,477,259 households in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area has 3.5 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $3.1M, 23% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area would have about 639, against 518 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 9,470 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. The official count rose 39.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +16.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area at 3,790,295 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,477,259 households. The median household income in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area is $99,833 a year, 24% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.1% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area scores 77 for car washes and detailers (high), #14 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 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.