Auto · Metro area · Iowa
Oil change and quick-lube shops in the Ames, IA metro area
How the Ames, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for oil change and quick-lube shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 2.
- Listings
- 2
- 2 chain locations (100%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $55.6M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,116 a household
- Spending per listing
- $27.8M
- Too few listings to compare
- Listings per 10k households
- 0.4
- Too few listings to compare
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the oil change and quick-lube shops around any address in the Ames 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 Ames 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
Households in the Ames metro area spend about $55.6M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,116 per household, 16% above the U.S. average. That works out to $27.8M per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only oil change and quick-lube shops.
There are 2 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings in the Ames metro area as of September 2026. That is 0.4 per 10,000 households.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as oil change and lubrication shops in the Ames metro area in 2023. That is one for every 16,613 households, against one for every 14,222 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ames metro area grew 2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 2 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings, the Ames metro area isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How the Ames metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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 | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| Spending per listing | $27.8M | $25.3M | $13.7M |
| Households per official establishment | 16,613 | 23,495 | 14,222 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.7% | +12.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,116 | $1,134 | $958 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 77 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 37
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 22 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4The 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 Ames 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 Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames 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 Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOil change and quick lube across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for oil change and quick-lube shops, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 85 | 15 | 0.4 | $28.7M | +4.2% | #2 of 290 |
| 1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 84 | 17 | 0.6 | $19.5M | +6.7% | #3 of 290 |
| 2Cedar Rapids, IA | 78 | 6 | 0.5 | $21.4M | +1.0% | #13 of 290 |
| 3Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 30 | 19 | 1.2 | $8.8M | −0.9% | #241 of 290 |
| Ames, IA | Not scored | 2 | 0.4 | $27.8M | +2.2% |
Other business types in the Ames 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 care62
- Auto repair shops62
- Collision repair and body shops59
- Car washes and detailing58
- Tire shops62
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations67
- Insurance agencies44
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 Ames, IA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 2 oil change and quick-lube shops in the Ames metro area. The listings count oil change and quick-lube shops. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as oil change and lubrication shops in 2023.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $55.6M a year, or $1,116 per household. That is 16% above the U.S. average (an index of 116, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings, it comes to $27.8M 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 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for oil change and quick-lube shops?
The Ames metro area has 2 oil change and quick-lube shops on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. At the U.S. ratio of oil change and quick-lube shops to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 4, against 2 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 16,613 households, against one for every 14,222 across the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Ames metro area has no market score for oil change and quick-lube shops: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 2.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ames 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 Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames 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 Ames 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.