Auto · Small-town market · Illinois
Oil change and quick-lube shops in the Sterling, IL area
How the Sterling, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for oil change and quick-lube shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Too few small-town markets have 5 or more listings to score them against each other.
- Listings
- 8
- 5 chain locations (63%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $23.9M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,036 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3M
- 78% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.5
- 5 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 54,121
- −2.6% since 2020
See the oil change and quick-lube shops around any address in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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
Households in the Sterling area spend about $23.9M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,036 per household, 8% above the U.S. average. That works out to $3M per shop, 78% below the U.S. figure of $13.7M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only oil change and quick-lube shops.
The Sterling area has 8 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 63%, against 73% across the U.S. That comes to 3.5 for every 10,000 households, 5 times the U.S. rate of 0.7.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for oil change and lubrication shops in the Sterling area, since they leave out counts under 3.
Population estimates put the population change in the Sterling area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Too few small-town markets have 5 or more oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings to score them against each other.
How the Sterling area compares
The same measures for Illinois 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.
| Measure | Sterling area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3M | $12.4M | $13.7M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 13,836 | 14,222 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +15.6% | +12.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,036 | $975 | $958 |
| Median household income | $67,500 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 85 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2The 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 oil change and lubrication shops in the Sterling 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 Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 54,121−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 23,120
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 684 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 80
- Median household income
- $67,500+24.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,592
- Median home value
- $127,100
- Jobs located here
- 20,819
- Daytime population
- 50,543Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sterling 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 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Sterling area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOther business types in the Sterling 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 care41
- Auto repair shops44
- Collision repair and body shops44
- Car washes and detailing32
- Tire shops69
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations53
- Insurance agencies15
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many oil change and quick-lube shops are in the Sterling, IL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 oil change and quick-lube shops in the Sterling area. 5 of them (63%) are chain locations. The listings count oil change and quick-lube shops. No official count is published for oil change and lubrication shops in the Sterling area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Sterling, IL area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $23.9M a year, or $1,036 per household. That is 8% above the U.S. average (an index of 108, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings, it comes to $3M per shop. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which oil change and quick-lube shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,120 households in the Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sterling, IL area compare with the U.S. for oil change and quick-lube shops?
The Sterling area has 3.5 oil change and quick-lube shops per 10,000 households, 5 times the U.S. rate of 0.7. Spending per shop is $3M, 78% below the U.S. figure of $13.7M. At the U.S. ratio of oil change and quick-lube shops to household spending, the Sterling area would have about 2, against 8 on map listings.
How fast is the Sterling, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Sterling area at 54,121 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 23,120 households. Median household income in the Sterling area is $67,500, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.5%, 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. Too few small-town markets have 5 or more oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings to score them against each other.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Sterling 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 Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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.