Auto · Small-town market · Missouri
Car washes and detailers in the Poplar Bluff, MO area
The car washes and detailers in the Poplar Bluff, MO area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #318 of 441 scored small-town markets
#10 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Missouri
- Listings
- 9
- 1 chain location (11%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.5M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $936 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.7M
- 31% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.4
- 42% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 41,904
- −0.4% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff 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
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Poplar Bluff area comes to about $15.5M a year: $936 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. Spread across 9 car washes and detailers, that is $1.7M per location, 31% 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 9 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Poplar Bluff area as of September 2026. One of them (11%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 5.4 for every 10,000 households, 42% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Poplar Bluff area in 2023. That is one for every 5,531 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $3.5M has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Poplar Bluff area.
Population estimates show the Poplar Bluff area declined 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For car washes and detailers, the Poplar Bluff area has a Groundwork market score of 38 (lower middle): #318 of 441 scored small-town markets and #10 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Missouri.
How the Poplar Bluff area 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.
| Measure | Poplar Bluff area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.7M | $2.5M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 5,531 | 6,706 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.7% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.4% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $936 | $1,058 | $958 |
| Median household income | $49,089 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 9
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $335K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 91 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $3.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 41,904−0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 16,594
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 695 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 60
- Median household income
- $49,089
- Average household income
- $67,066
- Median home value
- $145,100
- Jobs located here
- 18,059
- Daytime population
- 43,334Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff 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 Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Missouri for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the Poplar Bluff area marked.
Top small-town markets in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warrensburg, MO | 84 | 7 | 3.3 | $3.4M | +4.9% | #9 of 441 |
| 2Lebanon, MO | 76 | 5 | 3.4 | $3.1M | +2.5% | #37 of 441 |
| 3Branson, MO | 70 | 9 | 3.9 | $2.7M | +1.7% | #73 of 441 |
| 4Farmington, MO | 68 | 10 | 4.0 | $2.6M | +2.1% | #84 of 441 |
| 5Rolla, MO | 57 | 8 | 4.6 | $2.2M | +1.6% | #159 of 441 |
| 6Fort Leonard Wood, MO | 50 | 9 | 5.3 | $2M | +0.8% | #221 of 441 |
| 7Hannibal, MO | 46 | 9 | 5.9 | $1.8M | +0.4% | #251 of 441 |
| 8West Plains, MO | 44 | 9 | 5.6 | $2M | +2.5% | #270 of 441 |
| 9Sedalia, MO | 44 | 16 | 9.4 | $1.1M | +2.9% | #277 of 441 |
| 10Poplar Bluff, MO | 38 | 9 | 5.4 | $1.7M | −0.4% | #318 of 441 |
Other business types in the Poplar Bluff 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 care28
- Auto repair shops28
- Collision repair and body shops41
- Car washes and detailing38
- Tire shops37
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations38
- Insurance agencies37
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 Poplar Bluff, MO area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 9 car washes and detailers in the Poplar Bluff area. One of them (11%) is a chain location. 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 the Poplar Bluff, MO area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $15.5M a year, or $936 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.7M 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 16,594 households in the Poplar Bluff area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Poplar Bluff, MO area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Poplar Bluff area has 5.4 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 42% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.7M, 31% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Poplar Bluff area would have about 6, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,531 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Poplar Bluff, MO area growing?
Population estimates put the Poplar Bluff area at 41,904 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 16,594 households. The median household income in the Poplar Bluff area is $49,089 a year, 39% 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. 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 Poplar Bluff area scores 38 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #318 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 Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff 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.