Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Missouri

Car washes and detailers in the Springfield, MO metro area

How the Springfield, MO metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #214 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri

Listings
97
33 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
42
+68.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$209.5M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,053 a household
Spending per listing
$2.2M
14% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.9
29% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
500,694
+5.1% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 97 car washes and detailers in the Springfield metro area. 33 of them (34%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 4.9 for every 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Households in the Springfield metro area spend about $209.5M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,053 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.2M of household spending for each location on map listings, 14% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Springfield metro area was 42 in 2023, up 68.0% from 2019. That is one for every 4,735 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $314K has gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Springfield metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Springfield metro area grew 5.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Springfield metro area is 48 (lower middle), #214 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.

How the Springfield metro 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 Springfield, MO metro area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureSpringfield metro areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.94.23.8
Spending per listing$2.2M$2.5M$2.5M
Households per official establishment4,7356,7066,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+68.0%+10.7%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.1%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,053$1,058$958
Median household income$65,071$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score4852

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
42+68.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
374
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
9733 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
83The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$314K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
500,694+5.1% since 2020
Households
198,884
Median age
38.5
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
3,007 sq. mi.
People per square mile
162
Median household income
$65,071+34.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,400
Median home value
$230,700
Jobs located here
224,104
Daytime population
505,510Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Springfield 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 Springfield 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 Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Missouri for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the Springfield metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Missouri

Metro areas in Missouri ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kansas City, MO-KS643674.1$2.7M+3.4%#89 of 387
2Columbia, MO62323.7$2.9M+3.9%#108 of 387
3St. Joseph, MO-KS61183.8$2.8M−2.0%#116 of 387
4St. Louis, MO-IL574634.0$2.6M−0.2%#146 of 387
5Springfield, MO48974.9$2.2M+5.1%#214 of 387
6Jefferson City, MO40345.8$2M+2.2%#274 of 387
7Cape Girardeau, MO-IL38266.8$1.6M+1.7%#293 of 387
8Joplin, MO-KS37486.0$1.8M+3.9%#302 of 387

Other business types in the Springfield 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 Springfield, MO metro area?

The Springfield metro area has 97 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 33 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023, up 68.0% from 2019.

How much do households in the Springfield, MO metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $209.5M a year, or $1,053 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 97 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.2M 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 198,884 households in the Springfield metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Springfield metro area has 4.9 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.2M, 14% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Springfield metro area would have about 83, against 97 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,735 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. The official count rose 68.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +16.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Springfield, MO metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Springfield metro area at 500,694 people in 2025, up 5.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 198,884 households. Median household income in the Springfield metro area is $65,071, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 34.0%, 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 Springfield metro area scores 48 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #214 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 Springfield 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 Springfield metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Springfield 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 Springfield 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.