Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Oklahoma

Car washes and detailers in the Tahlequah, OK area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #294 of 441 scored small-town markets
#6 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma

Listings
8
1 chain location (13%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$16.5M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $884 a household
Spending per listing
$2.1M
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.3
13% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,196
+4.5% since 2020

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

At $884 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Tahlequah area spend about $16.5M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each location on map listings, 18% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

The Tahlequah area has 8 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (13%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 4.3 for every 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Tahlequah area was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 3,116 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Tahlequah area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Tahlequah area has a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle): #294 of 441 scored small-town markets and #6 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma.

How the Tahlequah area compares

The same measures for Oklahoma 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 Tahlequah, OK area compared with Oklahoma and the U.S.
MeasureTahlequah areaOklahomaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.35.03.8
Spending per listing$2.1M$1.8M$2.5M
Households per official establishment3,1166,6486,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.3%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.5%+4.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$884$911$958
Median household income$53,218$65,039$80,734
Groundwork market score4135

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
21
Annual payroll, 2023
$420K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
81 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
7The 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 Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah area

Population, 2025 estimate
49,196+4.5% since 2020
Households
18,698
Median age
38.1
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
749 sq. mi.
People per square mile
64
Median household income
$53,218+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$72,290
Median home value
$168,500
Jobs located here
13,276
Daytime population
42,397Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah 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 Oklahoma

Every Oklahoma market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Oklahoma

Small-town markets in Oklahoma ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Shawnee, OK7862.2$4.2M+3.5%#23 of 441
2Durant, OK7352.7$3.2M+10.9%#63 of 441
3Duncan, OK5284.6$2M+3.4%#205 of 441
4Muskogee, OK44103.9$2.2M+0.7%#268 of 441
5Bartlesville, OK42115.2$1.7M+2.7%#289 of 441
6Tahlequah, OK4184.3$2.1M+4.5%#294 of 441
7McAlester, OK3873.9$2.2M−1.1%#316 of 441
8Ada, OK3285.3$1.7M+1.2%#362 of 441
9Miami, OK3165.0$1.7M+0.7%#369 of 441
10Stillwater, OK30216.4$1.3M+2.8%#381 of 441

Other business types in the Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah, OK area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 car washes and detailers in the Tahlequah area. One of them (13%) is a chain location. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in the Tahlequah, OK area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $16.5M a year, or $884 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 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 18,698 households in the Tahlequah area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Tahlequah area has 4.3 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.1M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Tahlequah area would have about 7, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,116 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Tahlequah, OK area growing?

Population estimates put the Tahlequah area at 49,196 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,698 households. The median household income in the Tahlequah area is $53,218 a year, 34% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.4% 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. 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 Tahlequah area scores 41 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #294 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 Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah 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.