Auto · Metro area · Wisconsin
Car washes and detailers in the Eau Claire, WI metro area
The car washes and detailers in the Eau Claire, WI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #43 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 31
- 4 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $79.2M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,102 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.3
- 13% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 176,647
- +2.6% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 31 car washes and detailers in the Eau Claire metro area. 4 of them (13%) are chain locations, 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.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Eau Claire metro area comes to about $79.2M a year: $1,102 per household, 15% above the U.S. average. Spread across 31 car washes and detailers, that is $2.6M per location, in line with 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in the Eau Claire metro area classed as car washes. That is one for every 10,266 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $6.9M have gone to businesses classed as car washes in the Eau Claire metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Eau Claire metro area grew 2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For car washes and detailers, the Eau Claire metro area has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #43 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Eau Claire metro area compares
The same measures for Wisconsin 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.
| Measure | Eau Claire metro area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $3.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 10,266 | 9,500 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +22.0% | +16.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.6% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,102 | $1,061 | $958 |
| Median household income | $74,595 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 74 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 33
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $756K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 314 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 31The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $6.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 176,647+2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 71,865
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,646 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 106
- Median household income
- $74,595+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,224
- Median home value
- $259,900
- Jobs located here
- 86,835
- Daytime population
- 182,644Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Eau Claire metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Eau Claire metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardCar washes and detailing across Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Wisconsin for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Eau Claire metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duluth, MN-WI | 77 | 35 | 2.9 | $3.7M | +0.2% | #12 of 387 |
| 1Madison, WI | 77 | 91 | 3.0 | $3.4M | +4.1% | #13 of 387 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 77 | 518 | 3.5 | $3.1M | +2.6% | #14 of 387 |
| 2La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 76 | 23 | 3.2 | $3.3M | +0.4% | #18 of 387 |
| 3Wausau, WI | 76 | 21 | 3.6 | $3.1M | +1.0% | #19 of 387 |
| 4Kenosha, WI | 75 | 23 | 3.3 | $3.3M | −0.4% | #21 of 387 |
| 5Janesville-Beloit, WI | 75 | 25 | 3.7 | $2.9M | +1.7% | #22 of 387 |
| 6Eau Claire, WI | 71 | 31 | 4.3 | $2.6M | +2.6% | #43 of 387 |
| 7Green Bay, WI | 69 | 52 | 3.8 | $2.9M | +2.5% | #51 of 387 |
| 8Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 68 | 32 | 4.0 | $2.7M | +0.4% | #60 of 387 |
Other business types in the Eau Claire metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
- Auto repair and car care51
- Auto repair shops47
- Collision repair and body shops52
- Car washes and detailing71
- Tire shops77
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations50
- Insurance agencies34
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many car washes and detailers are in the Eau Claire, WI metro area?
The Eau Claire metro area has 31 car washes and detailers on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
How much do households in the Eau Claire, WI metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $79.2M a year, or $1,102 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $2.6M 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 71,865 households in the Eau Claire metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Eau Claire, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?
The Eau Claire metro 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 $2.6M, in line with the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 10,266 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
How fast is the Eau Claire, WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Eau Claire metro area at 176,647 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,865 households. Median household income in the Eau Claire metro area is $74,595, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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. The Eau Claire metro area scores 71 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #43 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro 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.