Auto · Metro area · Missouri
Car washes and detailers in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area
How the St. Louis, MO-IL 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #146 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri
- Listings
- 463
- 121 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 165
- −0.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.2B
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,045 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.0
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,814,421
- −0.2% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis metro 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
Households in the St. Louis metro area spend about $1.2B a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,045 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.6M of household spending for each location on map listings, 4% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
The St. Louis metro area has 463 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 121 are chain locations, or 26%, against 23% across the U.S. That is 4.0 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
Official counts show 165 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the St. Louis metro area in 2023, down 0.6% from 2019. That is one for every 7,033 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $2.5M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the St. Louis metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the St. Louis metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the St. Louis metro area is 57 (upper middle), #146 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.
How the St. Louis 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.
| Measure | St. Louis metro area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $2.5M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,033 | 6,706 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −0.6% | +10.7% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.2% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,045 | $1,058 | $958 |
| Median household income | $80,196 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 165−0.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,624
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $38M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 463121 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 481The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $2.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,814,421−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 1,160,386
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 7,864 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 357
- Median household income
- $80,196+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $109,353
- Median home value
- $244,800
- Jobs located here
- 1,400,208
- Daytime population
- 2,847,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis metro 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 metro areas in Missouri for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the St. Louis metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kansas City, MO-KS | 64 | 367 | 4.1 | $2.7M | +3.4% | #89 of 387 |
| 2Columbia, MO | 62 | 32 | 3.7 | $2.9M | +3.9% | #108 of 387 |
| 3St. Joseph, MO-KS | 61 | 18 | 3.8 | $2.8M | −2.0% | #116 of 387 |
| 4St. Louis, MO-IL | 57 | 463 | 4.0 | $2.6M | −0.2% | #146 of 387 |
| 5Springfield, MO | 48 | 97 | 4.9 | $2.2M | +5.1% | #214 of 387 |
| 6Jefferson City, MO | 40 | 34 | 5.8 | $2M | +2.2% | #274 of 387 |
| 7Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 38 | 26 | 6.8 | $1.6M | +1.7% | #293 of 387 |
| 8Joplin, MO-KS | 37 | 48 | 6.0 | $1.8M | +3.9% | #302 of 387 |
Other business types in the St. Louis metro 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 care58
- Auto repair shops56
- Collision repair and body shops43
- Car washes and detailing57
- Tire shops58
- Oil change and quick lube47
- Gas stations46
- Insurance agencies12
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 St. Louis, MO-IL metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 463 car washes and detailers in the St. Louis metro area. 121 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 165 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023, down 0.6% from 2019.
How much do households in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $1.2B a year, or $1,045 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 463 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.6M 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 1,160,386 households in the St. Louis metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The St. Louis metro area has 4.0 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.6M, 4% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the St. Louis metro area would have about 481, against 463 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,033 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +16.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Louis metro area at 2,814,421 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,160,386 households. The median household income in the St. Louis metro area is $80,196 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.9% 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 St. Louis metro area scores 57 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #146 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 St. Louis 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 St. Louis metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis 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.