Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · South Dakota

Car washes and detailers in the Yankton, SD area

How the Yankton, 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 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #181 of 441 scored small-town markets
#2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota

Listings
6
1 chain location (17%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$11.1M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,148 a household
Spending per listing
$1.9M
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.2
63% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
23,635
+1.5% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Yankton 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 Yankton area. 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 6 car washes and detailers in the Yankton area. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. That is 6.2 per 10,000 households, 63% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Households in the Yankton area spend about $11.1M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,148 per household, 20% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.9M of household spending for each location on map listings, 26% 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.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Yankton area: counts under 3 aren’t published.

Population estimates put the population change in the Yankton area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Yankton area has a Groundwork market score of 55 (upper middle): #181 of 441 scored small-town markets and #2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota.

How the Yankton 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 Yankton, SD area compared with South Dakota and the U.S.
MeasureYankton areaSouth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.24.93.8
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+1.5%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,148$1,189$958
Median household income$72,821$75,081$80,734
Groundwork market score5556

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
61 chain location
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 Yankton 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 Yankton area

Population, 2025 estimate
23,635+1.5% since 2020
Households
9,695
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
521 sq. mi.
People per square mile
45
Median household income
$72,821+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$95,237
Median home value
$225,900
Jobs located here
12,467
Daytime population
24,093Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Yankton 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 Yankton area. 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 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 Yankton 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 Yankton 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 Yankton, SD area?

The Yankton area has 6 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location. The listings count car washes and detailers. No official count is published for car washes in the Yankton area: counts under 3 are left out.

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

About $11.1M a year, or $1,148 per household. That is 20% above the U.S. average (an index of 120, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.9M 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 9,695 households in the Yankton area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Yankton area has 6.2 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 63% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.9M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Yankton area would have about 4, against 6 on map listings.

How fast is the Yankton, SD area growing?

Population estimates put the Yankton area at 23,635 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 9,695 households. Median household income in the Yankton area is $72,821, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Yankton area scores 55 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #181 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 Yankton 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 Yankton area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Yankton 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 Yankton 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.