Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Washington

Car washes and detailers in the Moses Lake, WA area

The car washes and detailers in the Moses Lake, WA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 76 out of 100: High

Ranked #41 of 441 scored small-town markets
#4 of 5 scored small-town markets based in Washington

Listings
20
5 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$42.6M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,204 a household
Spending per listing
$2.1M
15% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.7
50% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
105,727
+6.3% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake area is 76 (high), #41 of 441 scored small-town markets and #4 of 5 scored small-town markets based in Washington. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for car washes and detailers.

Households in the Moses Lake area spend about $42.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,204 per household, 26% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each location on map listings, 15% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.

The Moses Lake area has 20 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 25%, against 23% across the U.S. That is 5.7 per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in the Moses Lake area in 2023. That is one for every 8,850 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Moses Lake area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Moses Lake area compares

The same measures for Washington 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 Moses Lake, WA area compared with Washington and the U.S.
MeasureMoses Lake areaWashingtonU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.72.83.8
Spending per listing$2.1M$3.9M$2.5M
Households per official establishment8,8507,1616,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.1%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.3%+3.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,204$1,104$958
Median household income$73,267$98,141$80,734
Groundwork market score7680

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
22
Annual payroll, 2023
$814K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
205 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The 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 Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake area

Population, 2025 estimate
105,727+6.3% since 2020
Households
35,398
Median age
35.0
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
2,680 sq. mi.
People per square mile
38
Median household income
$73,267+31.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,003
Median home value
$299,500
Jobs located here
39,791
Daytime population
100,811Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake 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 Washington

Every Washington market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Washington

Small-town markets in Washington ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Centralia, WA8992.7$4.5M+6.7%#2 of 441
2Ellensburg, WA8152.5$4.8M+4.2%#15 of 441
3Port Angeles, WA7682.3$4.6M+1.1%#30 of 441
4Moses Lake, WA76205.7$2.1M+6.3%#41 of 441
5Oak Harbor, WA74102.8$4.2M−1.5%#51 of 441

Other business types in the Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake, WA area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 20 car washes and detailers in the Moses Lake area. 5 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in the Moses Lake, WA area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $42.6M a year, or $1,204 per household. That is 26% above the U.S. average (an index of 126, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 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 35,398 households in the Moses Lake area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Moses Lake, WA area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

The Moses Lake area has 5.7 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $2.1M, 15% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Moses Lake area would have about 17, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,850 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is the Moses Lake, WA area growing?

Population estimates put the Moses Lake area at 105,727 people in 2025, up 6.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 35,398 households. The median household income in the Moses Lake area is $73,267 a year, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.9% 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 Moses Lake area scores 76 for car washes and detailers (high), #41 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 Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake 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.