Auto · Small-town market · Minnesota
Collision repair and body shops in the Albert Lea, MN area
How the Albert Lea, MN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for collision repair and body shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #168 of 387 scored small-town markets
#7 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 5
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $14.1M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,098 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.8M
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.9
- 26% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 30,440
- −1.5% since 2020
See the collision repair and body shops around any address in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea 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
At $1,098 per household (15% above the U.S. average), households in the Albert Lea area spend about $14.1M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs. That works out to $2.8M per shop, 8% 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 Albert Lea area has 5 collision repair and body shops on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 14% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.9, 26% above the U.S. rate of 3.1.
Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in the Albert Lea area in 2023. That is one for every 3,212 households, against one for every 3,689 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Albert Lea area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For collision repair and body shops, the Albert Lea area has a Groundwork market score of 52 (upper middle): #168 of 387 scored small-town markets and #7 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota.
How the Albert Lea area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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.
| Measure | Albert Lea area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| Spending per listing | $2.8M | $3.6M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,212 | 3,005 | 3,689 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.1% | −0.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,098 | $1,108 | $958 |
| Median household income | $71,023 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 52 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 18
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 50 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 automotive body, paint and interior repair in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 30,440−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 12,846
- Median age
- 45.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 707 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $71,023+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,926
- Median home value
- $171,100
- Jobs located here
- 11,051
- Daytime population
- 27,708Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Albert Lea 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 collision repair and body shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Albert Lea area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardCollision repair and body shops across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for collision repair and body shops, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with the Albert Lea area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hutchinson, MN | 75 | 5 | 3.3 | $3.6M | −0.3% | #38 of 387 |
| 2Brainerd, MN | 67 | 16 | 3.8 | $3M | +4.3% | #74 of 387 |
| 3Alexandria, MN | 66 | 5 | 2.9 | $4.1M | +2.6% | #76 of 387 |
| 4Faribault-Northfield, MN | 63 | 9 | 3.8 | $3M | +4.2% | #104 of 387 |
| 5Detroit Lakes, MN | 55 | 6 | 4.2 | $3M | +0.9% | #151 of 387 |
| 6Willmar, MN | 53 | 7 | 4.0 | $2.9M | +2.3% | #162 of 387 |
| 7Albert Lea, MN | 52 | 5 | 3.9 | $2.8M | −1.5% | #168 of 387 |
| 8Fergus Falls, MN | 52 | 11 | 4.4 | $2.7M | +1.6% | #171 of 387 |
| 9Grand Rapids, MN | 51 | 10 | 5.4 | $2.1M | +0.9% | #182 of 387 |
| 10Winona, MN | 50 | 8 | 4.0 | $2.8M | +1.8% | #185 of 387 |
Other business types in the Albert Lea 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 care60
- Auto repair shops52
- Collision repair and body shops52
- Car washes and detailing
- Tire shops
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations52
- Insurance agencies38
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many collision repair and body shops are in the Albert Lea, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 collision repair and body shops in the Albert Lea area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count collision repair and auto body shops. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in 2023.
How much do households in the Albert Lea, MN area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $14.1M a year, or $1,098 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 collision repair and body shops on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 12,846 households in the Albert Lea area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Albert Lea, MN area compare with the U.S. for collision repair and body shops?
The Albert Lea area has 3.9 collision repair and body shops per 10,000 households, 26% above the U.S. rate of 3.1. Spending per shop is $2.8M, 8% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of collision repair and body shops to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,212 households, against one for every 3,689 across the U.S.
How fast is the Albert Lea, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Albert Lea area at 30,440 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,846 households. Median household income in the Albert Lea area is $71,023, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.4%, 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 Albert Lea area scores 52 for collision repair and body shops (upper middle), #168 of 387 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea 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.