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Car washes and detailers in Lewis and Clark County, MT

How Lewis and Clark County, MT compares with other counties and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #409 of 1,451 scored counties
#2 of 7 scored counties in Montana

Listings
12
2 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$34.9M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,116 a household
Spending per listing
$2.9M
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.8
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
75,331
+5.8% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 car washes and detailers in Lewis and Clark County. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.8, in line with the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Lewis and Clark County comes to about $34.9M a year: $1,116 per household, 17% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.9M of household spending for each location on map listings, 15% above 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.

Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in Lewis and Clark County in 2023. That is one for every 3,902 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Lewis and Clark County from 2020 to 2025 at +5.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, Lewis and Clark County has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #409 of 1,451 scored counties and #2 of 7 scored counties in Montana.

How Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County, MT compared with Montana and the U.S.
MeasureLewis and Clark CountyMontanaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.83.83.8
Spending per listing$2.9M$3.1M$2.5M
Households per official establishment3,9024,3296,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+34.2%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.8%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,116$1,157$958
Median household income$78,237$72,509$80,734
Groundwork market score6265

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6 → 8
Employees, 2023
43
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
122 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County

Population, 2025 estimate
75,331+5.8% since 2020
Households
31,215
Median age
42.1
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
3,458 sq. mi.
People per square mile
21
Median household income
$78,237+18.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$104,055
Median home value
$393,500
Jobs located here
41,168
Daytime population
78,294Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County

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

Questions

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

There are 12 car washes and detailers on map listings in Lewis and Clark County as of September 2026. 2 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

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

About $34.9M a year, or $1,116 per household. That is 17% above the U.S. average (an index of 117, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.9M 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 31,215 households in Lewis and Clark County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Lewis and Clark County has 3.8 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.9M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Lewis and Clark County would have about 14, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,902 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Lewis and Clark County, MT growing?

Population estimates put Lewis and Clark County at 75,331 people in 2025, up 5.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 31,215 households. Median household income in Lewis and Clark County is $78,237, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 18.9%, 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. 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. Lewis and Clark County scores 62 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #409 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark 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.