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Auto · Metro area · District of Columbia

Oil change and quick-lube shops in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

The oil change and quick-lube shops in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 72 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #36 of 290 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia

Listings
88
77 chain locations (88%)
Official establishments
119
+41.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.1B
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $902 a household
Spending per listing
$24.3M
77% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
0.4
43% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,465,724
+3.3% since 2020

See the oil change and quick-lube shops around any address in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

The site report maps the oil change and quick-lube 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 88 oil change and quick-lube shops in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. 77 of them (88%) are chain locations, against 73% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 0.4, 43% below the U.S. rate of 0.7.

Households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area spend about $2.1B a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $902 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. Spread across 88 oil change and quick-lube shops, that is $24.3M per shop, 77% above the U.S. figure of $13.7M. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which oil change and quick-lube shops share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 119 businesses with payroll in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area classed as oil change and lubrication shops, up 41.8% from 2019. That is one for every 19,941 households, against one for every 14,222 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $5.4M have gone to businesses classed as oil change and lubrication shops in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for oil change and quick-lube shops in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area is 72 (upper middle), #36 of 290 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area compares

The same measures for District of Columbia and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the oil change and quick-lube 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.

Oil change and quick lube in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compared with District of Columbia and the U.S.
MeasureWashington-Arlington-Alexandria metro areaDistrict of ColumbiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households0.40.00.7
Spending per listing$24.3Mn/a$13.7M
Households per official establishment19,941n/a14,222
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+41.8%n/a+12.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.3%+3.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$902$451$958
Median household income$126,684$109,870$80,734
Groundwork market score72Not scored

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
119+41.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,286
Annual payroll, 2023
$50.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
8877 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
156The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$5.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as oil change and lubrication shops in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
6,465,724+3.3% since 2020
Households
2,373,022
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
6,034 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,047
Median household income
$126,684
Average household income
$166,652
Median home value
$579,900
Jobs located here
3,140,160
Daytime population
6,505,668Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Other business types in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

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

Questions

How many oil change and quick-lube shops are in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area?

There are 88 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area as of September 2026. 77 of them (88%) are chain locations. The listings count oil change and quick-lube shops. Official counts show 119 businesses with payroll classed as oil change and lubrication shops in 2023, up 41.8% from 2019.

How much do households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $2.1B a year, or $902 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 88 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings, it comes to $24.3M per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only oil change and quick-lube shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,373,022 households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compare with the U.S. for oil change and quick-lube shops?

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has 0.4 oil change and quick-lube shops per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 0.7. Spending per shop is $24.3M, 77% above the U.S. figure of $13.7M. At the national ratio of oil change and quick-lube shops to household spending, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area would have about 156, against 88 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 19,941 households, against one for every 14,222 across the U.S. The official count rose 41.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +12.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area at 6,465,724 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,373,022 households. The median household income in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area is $126,684 a year, 57% 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores 72 for oil change and quick-lube shops (upper middle), #36 of 290 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. It maps the oil change and quick-lube 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 oil change and quick-lube shops · All 56 business types in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.