Groundwork

Auto · County · Pennsylvania

Car washes and detailers in Montgomery County, PA

How Montgomery County, PA 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 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #483 of 1,451 scored counties
#9 of 55 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
116
13 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
55
+10.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$319.9M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $953 a household
Spending per listing
$2.8M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.5
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
877,643
+2.4% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 116 car washes and detailers in Montgomery County. Chain locations make up 11% of them, against 23% across the U.S. That is 3.5 per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Montgomery County comes to about $319.9M a year: $953 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $2.8M per location, 9% 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 55 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in Montgomery County in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019. That is one for every 6,100 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $7.1M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in Montgomery County.

Population estimates put the population change in Montgomery County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Montgomery County scores 59 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #483 of 1,451 scored counties and #9 of 55 scored counties in Pennsylvania.

How Montgomery County compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Montgomery County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureMontgomery CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.53.73.8
Spending per listing$2.8M$2.2M$2.5M
Households per official establishment6,1008,3996,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.0%+9.0%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.4%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$953$837$958
Median household income$113,915$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5936

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
50 → 55+10.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
382
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
11613 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
127The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
8
Amount
$7.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County

Population, 2025 estimate
877,643+2.4% since 2020
Households
335,505
Median age
42.3
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
483 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,796
Median household income
$113,915+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$158,114
Median home value
$436,700
Jobs located here
546,323
Daytime population
974,838Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County. 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

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

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Monroe County, PA70152.5$3.9M−0.7%#224 of 1,451
2Carbon County, PA6562.2$4.1M+1.7%#332 of 1,451
3York County, PA65754.1$2.3M+3.6%#350 of 1,451
4Berks County, PA63563.4$2.7M+2.7%#393 of 1,451
5Adams County, PA63174.2$2.5M+3.6%#398 of 1,451
6Centre County, PA61152.5$3.2M−0.4%#431 of 1,451
7Chester County, PA61854.2$2.5M+4.2%#442 of 1,451
8Bucks County, PA60953.8$2.7M+0.3%#460 of 1,451
9Montgomery County, PA591163.5$2.8M+2.4%#483 of 1,451
10Northampton County, PA59463.8$2.5M+3.7%#492 of 1,451

Other business types in Montgomery County

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

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Montgomery County, PA?

Montgomery County has 116 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 13 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 55 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019.

How much do households in Montgomery County, PA spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $319.9M a year, or $953 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 116 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 335,505 households in Montgomery County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Montgomery County has 3.5 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.8M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Montgomery County would have about 127, against 116 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,100 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +16.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Montgomery County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Montgomery County at 877,643 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,505 households. Median household income in Montgomery County is $113,915, 41% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.4%, 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. Montgomery County scores 59 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #483 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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.