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Car washes and detailers in Mercer County, OH

How Mercer County, OH 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 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #956 of 1,451 scored counties
#58 of 73 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
9
2 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
7
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$19.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,182 a household
Spending per listing
$2.2M
14% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.5
45% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
42,737
+0.5% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Mercer 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 Mercer 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 9 car washes and detailers in Mercer County. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 22%, against 23% across the U.S. That is 5.5 per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Households in Mercer County spend about $19.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,182 per household, 23% above the U.S. average. That works out to $2.2M per location, 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 Mercer County was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 2,344 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Mercer County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, Mercer County has a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle): #956 of 1,451 scored counties and #58 of 73 scored counties in Ohio.

How Mercer County compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Mercer County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureMercer CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.54.43.8
Spending per listing$2.2M$2.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishment2,3446,7926,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+26.3%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.5%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,182$1,033$958
Median household income$76,782$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score4144

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 7
Employees, 2023
38
Annual payroll, 2023
$553K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
92 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County

Population, 2025 estimate
42,737+0.5% since 2020
Households
16,408
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
462 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$76,782+22.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$91,265
Median home value
$210,600
Jobs located here
19,998
Daytime population
40,314Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Mercer 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 Mercer 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 Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

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

Top counties in Ohio

Counties in Ohio ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fairfield County, OH88203.3$3.7M+6.5%#17 of 1,451
2Clermont County, OH83263.1$3.9M+3.9%#45 of 1,451
3Licking County, OH83223.2$3.6M+3.8%#46 of 1,451
4Delaware County, OH77313.8$3.4M+12.5%#96 of 1,451
5Warren County, OH77353.8$3.4M+5.7%#97 of 1,451
6Pickaway County, OH76104.6$2.6M+7.4%#114 of 1,451
7Highland County, OH7563.5$3.4M+1.1%#124 of 1,451
8Greene County, OH75304.4$2.6M+3.7%#131 of 1,451
9Auglaize County, OH7463.2$3.9M−1.2%#135 of 1,451
10Brown County, OH7363.5$3.7M+1.6%#157 of 1,451
58Mercer County, OH4195.5$2.2M+0.5%#956 of 1,451

Other business types in Mercer County

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

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Mercer County, OH?

There are 9 car washes and detailers on map listings in Mercer County as of September 2026. 2 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in Mercer County, OH spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $19.4M a year, or $1,182 per household. That is 23% above the U.S. average (an index of 123, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 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 16,408 households in Mercer County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Mercer County has 5.5 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 45% 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, Mercer County would have about 8, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,344 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Mercer County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Mercer County at 42,737 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,408 households. Median household income in Mercer County is $76,782, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.0%, 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. Mercer County scores 41 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #956 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Mercer 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 Mercer 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.