Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · North Carolina

Car washes and detailers in the Lumberton, NC area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #18 of 441 scored small-town markets
#1 of 22 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina

Listings
10
1 chain location (10%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$38.6M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $896 a household
Spending per listing
$3.9M
53% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.3
39% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
119,941
+3.4% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Lumberton 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 Lumberton area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Lumberton area scores 79 (high) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #18 of 441 scored small-town markets and #1 of 22 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for car washes and detailers.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 car washes and detailers in the Lumberton area. One of them (10%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. That is 2.3 per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.

At $896 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the Lumberton area spend about $38.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. Spread across 10 car washes and detailers, that is $3.9M per location, 53% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Lumberton area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 14,378 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Lumberton area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Lumberton area compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Lumberton, NC area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureLumberton areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.33.93.8
Spending per listing$3.9M$2.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishment14,3786,9636,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.7%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.4%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$896$939$958
Median household income$41,978$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score7955

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
14
Annual payroll, 2023
$440K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
101 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The 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 the Lumberton 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 Lumberton area

Population, 2025 estimate
119,941+3.4% since 2020
Households
43,134
Median age
37.3
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
947 sq. mi.
People per square mile
123
Median household income
$41,978+20.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$62,210
Median home value
$94,500
Jobs located here
39,575
Daytime population
113,327Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lumberton 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 Lumberton area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Car washes and detailing across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Lumberton area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Carolina

Small-town markets in North Carolina ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lumberton, NC79102.3$3.9M+3.4%#18 of 441
2Albemarle, NC7893.6$2.9M+9.8%#24 of 441
3Anderson Creek, NC75214.2$2.4M+12.3%#49 of 441
4Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC74143.6$2.7M+3.4%#57 of 441
5Waynesville, NC7351.8$5.2M+1.9%#59 of 441
6Sanford, NC62114.4$2.3M+10.8%#129 of 441
7Roanoke Rapids, NC5982.8$3.2M−4.3%#143 of 441
8New Bern, NC58234.4$2M+3.6%#155 of 441
9Kinston, NC5783.4$2.4M+1.4%#158 of 441
10Morehead City, NC55134.1$2.3M+4.1%#176 of 441

Other business types in the Lumberton 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 Lumberton, NC area?

There are 10 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Lumberton area as of September 2026. One of them (10%) is a chain location. 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 Lumberton, NC area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $38.6M a year, or $896 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $3.9M 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 43,134 households in the Lumberton area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Lumberton area has 2.3 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $3.9M, 53% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Lumberton area would have about 15, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 14,378 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Lumberton, NC area growing?

Population estimates put the Lumberton area at 119,941 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 43,134 households. Median household income in the Lumberton area is $41,978, 48% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.0%, 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. 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 Lumberton area scores 79 for car washes and detailers (high), #18 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 Lumberton 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 Lumberton area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lumberton 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 Lumberton 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.