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Car washes and detailers in Gallatin County, MT

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #543 of 1,451 scored counties
#5 of 7 scored counties in Montana

Listings
26
3 chain locations (12%)
Official establishments
19
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$62.8M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,225 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
4% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.1
34% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
128,740
+7.7% since 2020

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

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Gallatin County comes to about $62.8M a year: $1,225 per household, 28% above the U.S. average. Spread across 26 car washes and detailers, that is $2.4M per location, 4% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

Gallatin County has 26 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (12%) are chain locations, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.1, 34% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in Gallatin County in 2023. That is one for every 2,696 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $3.3M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in Gallatin County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Gallatin County grew 7.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, Gallatin County has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #543 of 1,451 scored counties and #5 of 7 scored counties in Montana.

How Gallatin County compares

The same measures for Montana 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 Gallatin County, MT compared with Montana and the U.S.
MeasureGallatin CountyMontanaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.13.83.8
Spending per listing$2.4M$3.1M$2.5M
Households per official establishment2,6964,3296,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+34.2%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+7.7%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,225$1,157$958
Median household income$93,528$72,509$80,734
Groundwork market score5765

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10 → 19
Employees, 2023
68
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
263 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
25The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$3.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in Gallatin 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 Gallatin County

Population, 2025 estimate
128,740+7.7% since 2020
Households
51,215
Median age
36.3
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
2,605 sq. mi.
People per square mile
48
Median household income
$93,528+40.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$132,508
Median home value
$667,600
Jobs located here
70,333
Daytime population
127,514Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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 Montana

Every Montana market ranked →

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

Top counties in Montana

Counties in Montana ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yellowstone County, MT62273.9$2.9M+4.5%#407 of 1,451
2Lewis and Clark County, MT62123.8$2.9M+5.8%#409 of 1,451
3Silver Bow County, MT6263.9$2.6M+2.6%#412 of 1,451
4Missoula County, MT61193.6$2.9M+4.4%#434 of 1,451
5Gallatin County, MT57265.1$2.4M+7.7%#543 of 1,451
6Cascade County, MT49154.2$2.6M+0.7%#743 of 1,451
7Flathead County, MT49255.7$2M+10.1%#757 of 1,451

Other business types in Gallatin County

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

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Gallatin County, MT?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 26 car washes and detailers in Gallatin County. 3 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in Gallatin County, MT spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $62.8M a year, or $1,225 per household. That is 28% above the U.S. average (an index of 128, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.4M 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 51,215 households in Gallatin County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Gallatin County, MT compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

Gallatin County has 5.1 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.4M, 4% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Gallatin County would have about 25, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,696 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Gallatin County, MT growing?

Population estimates put Gallatin County at 128,740 people in 2025, up 7.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 51,215 households. The median household income in Gallatin County is $93,528 a year, 16% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 40.9% 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. Gallatin County scores 57 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #543 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Gallatin 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 Gallatin County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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.