Groundwork

Auto · Metro area · Connecticut

Collision repair and body shops in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for collision repair and body shops in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 28 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #332 of 381 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut

Listings
63
7 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
57
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$159.1M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $884 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.5
13% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
463,349
+3.2% since 2020

See the collision repair and body shops around any address in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area

The site report maps the collision repair and body shops 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 Waterbury-Shelton metro 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

For collision repair and body shops, the Waterbury-Shelton metro area has a Groundwork market score of 28 (lower middle): #332 of 381 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area comes to about $159.1M a year: $884 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.5M per shop, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only collision repair and body shops.

The Waterbury-Shelton metro area has 63 collision repair and body shops on map listings as of September 2026. 7 of them (11%) are chain locations, against 14% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.5, 13% above the U.S. rate of 3.1.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area was 57 in 2023. That is one for every 3,160 households, against one for every 3,689 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $514K has gone to businesses classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.2%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Waterbury-Shelton metro area compares

The same measures for Connecticut and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the collision repair and body shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Collision repair and body shops in Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureWaterbury-Shelton metro areaConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.53.13.1
Spending per listing$2.5M$2.9M$3.1M
Households per official establishment3,1603,7443,689
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−5.0%−0.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$884$902$958
Median household income$86,191$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score2840

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
57
Employees, 2023
400
Annual payroll, 2023
$23.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
637 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
52The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$514K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in the Waterbury-Shelton 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 Waterbury-Shelton metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
463,349+3.2% since 2020
Households
180,116
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
413 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,102
Median household income
$86,191
Average household income
$114,324
Median home value
$317,700
Jobs located here
164,434
Daytime population
395,318Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Waterbury-Shelton 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 collision repair and body shops on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Waterbury-Shelton metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Collision repair and body shops across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for collision repair and body shops, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Waterbury-Shelton metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Connecticut

Metro areas in Connecticut ranked for collision repair and body shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT57292.5$3.5M+2.0%#152 of 381
2Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT491312.8$3.2M+3.0%#208 of 381
3Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT371223.4$2.8M+3.7%#282 of 381
4Waterbury-Shelton, CT28633.5$2.5M+3.2%#332 of 381
5New Haven, CT26723.1$2.7M+2.5%#337 of 381

Other business types in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area

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

Questions

How many collision repair and body shops are in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 63 collision repair and body shops in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area. 7 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count collision repair and auto body shops. Official counts show 57 businesses with payroll classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in 2023.

How much do households in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $159.1M a year, or $884 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 collision repair and body shops on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per shop. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which collision repair and body shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 180,116 households in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for collision repair and body shops?

The Waterbury-Shelton metro area has 3.5 collision repair and body shops per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 3.1. Spending per shop is $2.5M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of collision repair and body shops to household spending, the Waterbury-Shelton metro area would have about 52, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,160 households, against one for every 3,689 across the U.S.

How fast is the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Waterbury-Shelton metro area at 463,349 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 180,116 households. Median household income in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area is $86,191, 7% above the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Waterbury-Shelton metro area scores 28 for collision repair and body shops (lower middle), #332 of 381 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area. It maps the collision repair and body shops 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 collision repair and body shops · All 56 business types in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterbury-Shelton 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 Waterbury-Shelton 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.