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Brevard County, FL — Car washes Saturation

How many car washes exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 44 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Car wash tunnels & bays · Self-serve & automatic washes · Detailing (wash-attached). Counted together because official statistics use one 811192 code.

Measured density: Range spans bands — 0.95× the U.S. rate (between 0.95× and 2.07× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 36 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 20 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Range spans the U.S. rate   Brevard County car washes — 95–207% of the U.S. rate

34 car washes are counted in Brevard County — 0.5 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 95% of the U.S. rate of 0.5.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 71% between 2015 and 2023 (7 → 12). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 32935 (Melbourne), 32937 (Satellite Beach), 32926 (Cocoa) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 32940 (Melbourne), 32780 (Titusville), 32907 (Palm Bay).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 51 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: Brevard County sits at 95% of the U.S. rate for car washes. 20 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 95% and 207% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 32935 and 32937; the lowest measured density is in 32940 and 32780.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing car washes and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Car washes
34–106
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (36 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
0.5
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
0.5
per 10,000 present
County index
0.95×
vs. U.S.
Latest year (CBP)
51
2023 — $9M annual payroll
Residents
633,463
28 ZIPs with data
Workers
195,669
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
658,447
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+8.2%
+49,655 people
Net migration 2024
+14,804
international +3,720, domestic +11,084
Jobs located here
230,479
LODES 2022, +5.2% since 2019

Brevard County had an estimated 658,447 residents on July 1, 2024 — 8.2% more than in 2020 (+49,655). In the latest year it gained 11,742 people: births minus deaths −3,021, international migration +3,720, domestic migration +11,084. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

230,479 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+5.2% since 2019), and 255,373 employed residents lived there (+5.5% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
32949 Grant
+47.3%
32909 Palm Bay
+33.8%
32940 Melbourne
+22.7%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
32920 Cape Canaveral
−2.7%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses

Not shown. Census publishes only a broader group that also includes oil-change and other auto service shops, so a car-wash-only nonemployer count is not published.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (NAICS 2022). We do not approximate this figure.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery.

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more car washes in that ZIP.

Market trend — up 71% since 2015

Number of car washes in Brevard County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

7
2015
9
2018
8
2020
10
2021
17
2022
12
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
32935 Melbourne
292%
32937 Satellite Beach
264%
32926 Cocoa
228%
32904 Melbourne
212%
32905 Palm Bay
206%
32907 Palm Bay
196%
32780 Titusville
137%
32940 Melbourne
135%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
32940 Melbourne
135%
32780 Titusville
137%
32907 Palm Bay
196%
32905 Palm Bay
206%
32904 Melbourne
212%
32926 Cocoa
228%
32937 Satellite Beach
264%
32935 Melbourne
292%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few car washes may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = car washes per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersCar washes Per 10kIndexStatus
32935Melbourne 41,96514,193 7 1.4 292% Very high density
32937Satellite Beach 27,8366,361 4 1.3 264% Very high density
32926Cocoa 23,5056,862 3 1.1 228% High density
32904Melbourne 37,24122,135 5 1.0 212% High density
32905Palm Bay 24,7929,869 3 1.0 206% High density
32907Palm Bay 49,0806,010 5 1.0 196% High density
32780Titusville 40,0649,602 3 0.7 137% Above average
32940Melbourne 51,72717,451 4 0.7 135% Above average
32754Mims 12,011946 0–2 — — Not published
32781Titusville —55 0–2 — — Not published
32796Titusville 20,2225,077 0–2 — — Not published
32815Orlando —1,357 0–2 — — Not published
32899Orlando 02,694 0–2 — — Not published
32901Melbourne 28,92328,047 0–2 — — Not published
32902Melbourne —89 0–2 — — Not published
32903Indialantic 13,8362,927 0–2 — — Not published
32906Palm Bay —19 0–2 — — Not published
32908Palm Bay 16,535383 0–2 — — Not published
32909Palm Bay 41,8042,720 0–2 — — Not published
32910Palm Bay —23 0–2 — — Not published
32911Palm Bay —28 0–2 — — Not published
32912Melbourne —5 0–2 — — Not published
32919Melbourne —4,680 0–2 — — Not published
32920Cape Canaveral 10,0058,572 0–2 — — Not published
32922Cocoa 14,7004,558 0–2 — — Not published
32923Cocoa —117 0–2 — — Not published
32924Cocoa —11 0–2 — — Not published
32925Patrick Afb 1,6441,133 0–2 — — Not published
32927Cocoa 29,2192,252 0–2 — — Not published
32931Cocoa Beach 14,1746,225 0–2 — — Not published
32932Cocoa Beach —38 0–2 — — Not published
32934Melbourne 18,5648,632 0–2 — — Not published
32936Melbourne —170 0–2 — — Not published
32941Melbourne —31 0–2 — — Not published
32949Grant 3,636221 0–2 — — Not published
32950Malabar 4,1321,373 0–2 — — Not published
32951Melbourne Beach 11,2991,105 0–2 — — Not published
32952Merritt Island 21,6136,282 0–2 — — Not published
32953Merritt Island 24,7598,213 0–2 — — Not published
32954Merritt Island —33 0–2 — — Not published
32955Rockledge 41,00814,066 0–2 — — Not published
32956Rockledge —752 0–2 — — Not published
32959Sharpes 134 0–2 — — Not published
32976Sebastian 9,156450 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Melbourne

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Melbourne retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Melbourne retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Melbourne retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Brevard County and car washes

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 811192 — car washes. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 51 establishments and $9M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (0.49 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

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.