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Car washes and detailers in the Toledo, OH metro area

How the Toledo, OH 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 32 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #325 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio

Listings
120
43 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
50
+2.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$251.3M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $988 a household
Spending per listing
$2.1M
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.7
24% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
599,376
−1.0% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Toledo 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 Toledo metro area. 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

The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in the Toledo metro area is 32 (lower middle), #325 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Toledo metro area comes to about $251.3M a year: $988 per household, 3% above the U.S. average. Spread across 120 car washes and detailers, that is $2.1M per location, 17% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

There are 120 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Toledo metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 43 are chain locations, or 36%, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.7, 24% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Toledo metro area was 50 in 2023, up 2.1% from 2019. That is one for every 5,090 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $12.1M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Toledo metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Toledo metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Toledo metro area 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 Toledo, OH metro area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureToledo metro areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.74.43.8
Spending per listing$2.1M$2.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishment5,0906,7926,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.1%+26.3%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.0%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$988$1,033$958
Median household income$65,486$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score3244

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
50+2.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
372
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
12043 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
100The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
9
Amount
$12.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Toledo 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 Toledo metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
599,376−1.0% since 2020
Households
254,486
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,362 sq. mi.
People per square mile
442
Median household income
$65,486
Average household income
$90,812
Median home value
$176,300
Jobs located here
293,806
Daytime population
629,657Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Toledo 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 Toledo metro area. 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 metro areas in Ohio for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Ohio (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Toledo metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Ohio

Metro areas in Ohio ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Columbus, OH723203.7$2.8M+4.7%#39 of 387
2Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN673113.4$3.1M+2.7%#66 of 387
3Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH581524.4$2.3M+1.5%#139 of 387
4Springfield, OH53234.1$2.5M−0.4%#174 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH51513.4$2.6M−2.6%#185 of 387
Wheeling, WV-OH49213.6$2.4M−3.6%#199 of 387
5Sandusky, OH47203.9$2.7M−2.6%#220 of 387
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH45193.8$2.3M−3.6%#239 of 387
6Cleveland, OH404174.5$2.1M−0.8%#273 of 387
7Lima, OH38286.8$1.6M−1.2%#294 of 387
9Toledo, OH321204.7$2.1M−1.0%#325 of 387

Other business types in the Toledo metro 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 Toledo, OH metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 120 car washes and detailers in the Toledo metro area. 43 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023, up 2.1% from 2019.

How much do households in the Toledo, OH metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $251.3M a year, or $988 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 120 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.1M 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 254,486 households in the Toledo metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Toledo, OH metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Toledo metro area has 4.7 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 24% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.1M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Toledo metro area would have about 100, against 120 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,090 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +16.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Toledo, OH metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Toledo metro area at 599,376 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 254,486 households. The median household income in the Toledo metro area is $65,486 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Toledo metro area scores 32 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #325 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 Toledo 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 Toledo metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Toledo 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 Toledo 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.