19,807 car washes with paid employees, as counted by Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023. That is 0.5 per 10,000 people present — residents plus half of employment — and 0.6 per 10,000 residents. Per person present, this industry ranks 16 of 16 among the categories on this site.
Includes: Car wash tunnels & bays · Self-serve & automatic washes · Detailing (wash-attached). Counted together because official statistics use one 811192 code.
Ranked by counted establishments across the 500 covered counties. A range means some ZIP cells are withheld by Census (each 0–2 businesses).
| # | County | Businesses | Per 10,000 present | vs. U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles County, CA | 383–1,021 | 0.3 | 67–134% |
| 2 | Harris County, TX | 222–552 | 0.4 | 76–135% |
| 3 | Orange County, CA | 182–376 | 0.5 | 94–145% |
| 4 | Cook County, IL | 170–464 | 0.3 | 55–136% |
| 5 | Maricopa County, AZ | 161–451 | 0.3 | 59–126% |
| 6 | San Diego County, CA | 140–410 | 0.4 | 72–153% |
| 7 | Orange County, FL | 138–234 | 0.7 | 146–193% |
| 8 | San Bernardino County, CA | 136–312 | 0.5 | 109–215% |
| 9 | Broward County, FL | 124–228 | 0.5 | 107–147% |
| 10 | Riverside County, CA | 116–256 | 0.4 | 84–148% |
| 11 | Tarrant County, TX | 111–235 | 0.4 | 91–158% |
| 12 | Wayne County, MI | 109–207 | 0.5 | 105–183% |
Ranked by density per person present, relative to the U.S. rate. A high figure means the supply is concentrated there — a shopping district, a tourist area, or a genuinely crowded local market. It does not mean demand is higher.
| # | County | Businesses | Per 10,000 present | vs. U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas County, GA | 16–22 | 0.9 | 190–214% |
| 2 | Kootenai County, ID | 20–42 | 0.9 | 188–358% |
| 3 | New Hanover County, NC | 26–46 | 0.9 | 179–262% |
| 4 | Midland County, TX | 18–32 | 0.8 | 172–210% |
| 5 | Kent County, RI | 17–27 | 0.8 | 169–248% |
| 6 | Montgomery County, TN | 20–32 | 0.8 | 166–233% |
| 7 | Mesa County, CO | 15–47 | 0.8 | 164–470% |
| 8 | Bibb County, GA | 17–47 | 0.8 | 163–297% |
Does this count include chains and franchises?
Yes. Census counts each establishment with paid employees, so every location of a chain or franchise counts once. A coffee chain with 300 stores contributes 300 establishments.
Why is this different from a map search or a local list?
Census ZIP Code Business Patterns is a survey-based count of employer establishments by industry code. A map search is not a census: it can include permanently closed places, duplicate listings, and businesses outside the category. The two numbers answer different questions and will not match.
Does this include businesses with no employees?
No. Sole proprietors and other businesses with no paid employees are published separately by Census Nonemployer Statistics and are not part of this count. For several categories here — salons, child care, pet care — nonemployer businesses can outnumber employer establishments.
Is this the number in my city?
No. The national figure covers the whole country. The tables below cover the 500 counties this site reports on, and a county is not a city. Use the ZIP checker to see counts inside a specific ZIP code.
Sources: U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 (establishments), American Community Survey 2024 5-year (population), Census CBP 2023 (national employment). How the density model works →
BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.