Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Missouri

Car washes and detailers in the Sedalia, MO area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for car washes and detailers in the Sedalia, MO area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #277 of 441 scored small-town markets
#9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Missouri

Listings
16
2 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$18.2M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,070 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
55% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.4
2.5 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
44,254
+2.9% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 16 car washes and detailers in the Sedalia area. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 9.4 per 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Sedalia area comes to about $18.2M a year: $1,070 per household, 12% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.1M of household spending for each location on map listings, 55% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Sedalia area classed as car washes. That is one for every 5,665 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $2.1M has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Sedalia area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Sedalia area grew 2.9%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Sedalia area has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #277 of 441 scored small-town markets and #9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Missouri.

How the Sedalia 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.

Car washes and detailing in Sedalia, MO area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureSedalia areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.44.23.8
Spending per listing$1.1M$2.5M$2.5M
Households per official establishment5,6656,7066,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.7%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.9%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,070$1,058$958
Median household income$60,430$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score4452

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
44
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
162 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
7The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$2.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Sedalia 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 Sedalia area

Population, 2025 estimate
44,254+2.9% since 2020
Households
16,996
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
682 sq. mi.
People per square mile
64
Median household income
$60,430+30.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,820
Median home value
$166,300
Jobs located here
20,518
Daytime population
44,113Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Sedalia 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 Sedalia 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 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 Sedalia area marked.

Top small-town markets in Missouri

Small-town markets in Missouri ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warrensburg, MO8473.3$3.4M+4.9%#9 of 441
2Lebanon, MO7653.4$3.1M+2.5%#37 of 441
3Branson, MO7093.9$2.7M+1.7%#73 of 441
4Farmington, MO68104.0$2.6M+2.1%#84 of 441
5Rolla, MO5784.6$2.2M+1.6%#159 of 441
6Fort Leonard Wood, MO5095.3$2M+0.8%#221 of 441
7Hannibal, MO4695.9$1.8M+0.4%#251 of 441
8West Plains, MO4495.6$2M+2.5%#270 of 441
9Sedalia, MO44169.4$1.1M+2.9%#277 of 441
10Poplar Bluff, MO3895.4$1.7M−0.4%#318 of 441

Other business types in the Sedalia 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 Sedalia, MO area?

The Sedalia area has 16 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (13%) are chain locations. 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 Sedalia, MO area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $18.2M a year, or $1,070 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.1M 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 16,996 households in the Sedalia area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Sedalia area has 9.4 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.1M, 55% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Sedalia area would have about 7, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,665 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Sedalia, MO area growing?

Population estimates put the Sedalia area at 44,254 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,996 households. Median household income in the Sedalia area is $60,430, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.9%, 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 Sedalia area scores 44 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #277 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 Sedalia 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 Sedalia area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sedalia 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 Sedalia 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.