Groundwork

Auto · County · Missouri

Car washes and detailers in Cape Girardeau County, MO

The car washes and detailers in Cape Girardeau County, MO, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #925 of 1,451 scored counties
#32 of 45 scored counties in Missouri

Listings
24
6 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$34.6M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,067 a household
Spending per listing
$1.4M
43% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.4
95% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
83,999
+2.7% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County. 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

At $1,067 per household (11% above the U.S. average), households in Cape Girardeau County spend about $34.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $1.4M of household spending for each location on map listings, 43% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

There are 24 car washes and detailers on map listings in Cape Girardeau County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 25% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 7.4 for every 10,000 households, 95% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in Cape Girardeau County classed as car washes. That is one for every 6,491 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cape Girardeau County grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in Cape Girardeau County is 43 (lower middle), #925 of 1,451 scored counties and #32 of 45 scored counties in Missouri.

How Cape Girardeau County compares

The same measures for Missouri 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 Cape Girardeau County, MO compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureCape Girardeau CountyMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.44.23.8
Spending per listing$1.4M$2.5M$2.5M
Households per official establishment6,4916,7066,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.7%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.7%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,067$1,058$958
Median household income$68,464$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score4352

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5
Employees, 2023
36
Annual payroll, 2023
$651K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
246 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The 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 Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County

Population, 2025 estimate
83,999+2.7% since 2020
Households
32,454
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
579 sq. mi.
People per square mile
143
Median household income
$68,464+27.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,147
Median home value
$220,700
Jobs located here
39,481
Daytime population
85,255Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Car washes and detailing across Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Missouri for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Missouri, with Cape Girardeau County marked.

Top counties in Missouri

Counties in Missouri ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lincoln County, MO9483.5$3.6M+11.4%#3 of 1,451
2Warren County, MO9253.6$3.6M+9.2%#6 of 1,451
3Jefferson County, MO86303.4$3.5M+2.7%#28 of 1,451
4Christian County, MO85123.4$3.5M+8.3%#37 of 1,451
5Platte County, MO85184.1$2.9M+6.7%#38 of 1,451
6Cass County, MO82204.6$2.7M+7.1%#51 of 1,451
7Johnson County, MO8073.3$3.4M+4.9%#59 of 1,451
8Lawrence County, MO7264.1$2.7M+3.7%#188 of 1,451
9Laclede County, MO7153.4$3.1M+2.5%#205 of 1,451
10Franklin County, MO71214.9$2.4M+3.1%#217 of 1,451
32Cape Girardeau County, MO43247.4$1.4M+2.7%#925 of 1,451

Other business types in Cape Girardeau County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Cape Girardeau County, MO?

As of September 2026, map listings count 24 car washes and detailers in Cape Girardeau County. 6 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in Cape Girardeau County, MO spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $34.6M a year, or $1,067 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.4M 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 32,454 households in Cape Girardeau County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cape Girardeau County, MO compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

Cape Girardeau County has 7.4 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 95% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.4M, 43% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Cape Girardeau County would have about 14, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,491 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Cape Girardeau County, MO growing?

Population estimates put Cape Girardeau County at 83,999 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 32,454 households. The median household income in Cape Girardeau County is $68,464 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.4% 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. Cape Girardeau County scores 43 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #925 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau 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.