Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · South Dakota

Car washes and detailers in the Pierre, SD area

How the Pierre, SD area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #262 of 441 scored small-town markets
#5 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota

Listings
5
2 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$9.4M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,104 a household
Spending per listing
$1.9M
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
55% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,588
−0.5% since 2020

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

Households in the Pierre area spend about $9.4M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,104 per household, 15% above the U.S. average. Spread across 5 car washes and detailers, that is $1.9M per location, 25% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

The Pierre area has 5 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 40%, against 23% across the U.S. That comes to 5.9 for every 10,000 households, 55% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for car washes in the Pierre area, since they leave out counts under 3.

Population estimates put the population change in the Pierre area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Pierre area scores 45 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #262 of 441 scored small-town markets and #5 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota.

How the Pierre area compares

The same measures for South Dakota 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 Pierre, SD area compared with South Dakota and the U.S.
MeasurePierre areaSouth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.94.93.8
Spending per listing$1.9M$2.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishmentn/a5,7126,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+14.3%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.5%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,104$1,189$958
Median household income$81,645$75,081$80,734
Groundwork market score4556

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
52 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4The 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 Pierre 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 Pierre area

Population, 2025 estimate
20,588−0.5% since 2020
Households
8,543
Median age
41.5
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,186 sq. mi.
People per square mile
9
Median household income
$81,645+24.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$98,676
Median home value
$237,100
Jobs located here
12,082
Daytime population
22,272Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Pierre 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 Pierre 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 South Dakota

Every South Dakota market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in South Dakota

Small-town markets in South Dakota ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Brookings, SD7875.1$2.3M+9.6%#25 of 441
2Yankton, SD5566.2$1.9M+1.5%#181 of 441
3Watertown, SD5486.4$1.8M+4.3%#186 of 441
4Spearfish, SD5275.8$2M+14.0%#206 of 441
5Pierre, SD4555.9$1.9M−0.5%#262 of 441
6Aberdeen, SD41116.1$1.8M−1.5%#297 of 441
7Mitchell, SD35109.1$1.3M+0.6%#343 of 441

Other business types in the Pierre 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 Pierre, SD area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 car washes and detailers in the Pierre area. 2 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. No official count is published for car washes in the Pierre area: counts under 3 are left out.

How much do households in the Pierre, SD area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $9.4M a year, or $1,104 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.9M 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 8,543 households in the Pierre area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Pierre area has 5.9 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 55% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.9M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Pierre area would have about 4, against 5 on map listings.

How fast is the Pierre, SD area growing?

Population estimates put the Pierre area at 20,588 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,543 households. The median household income in the Pierre area is $81,645 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.3% 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 Pierre area scores 45 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #262 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 Pierre 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 Pierre area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pierre 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 Pierre 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.