Industry knowledge base · Auto & personal services
A busy shop can still be short on cash. The opportunity is in jobs you can diagnose, authorize, finish and collect on without tying up a bay for days.
The market
2022 employer-establishment revenue for shops primarily doing general mechanical or electrical repair. Does not include businesses without paid employees, or other primary activities like tire retail or collision repair. 2022 Economic Census employer-establishment data
Count of establishments, not distinct companies. Michigan accounted for 2,563 locations and $2.16 billion in receipts in the same dataset. 2022 Economic Census employer-establishment data
2025 U.S. mean per consumer unit, including people who spent nothing. Not a repair invoice, a per-vehicle amount or revenue limited to independent shops. 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics expenditure tables
The customer
A driver may value a dependable turnaround and a clear next service interval. Distinguish easy capacity-fill jobs from appointments that require a specialized bay.
A no-start or warning light creates different urgency from routine maintenance. Quote diagnostic work separately and get authorization for the actual repair.
Operators need vehicles back in service, predictable communication and records. A fleet relationship can repeat, but estimate approval and payment terms affect cash flow.
| Age of household reference person | Annual mean spending |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | $671 |
| 25–34 | $960 |
| 35–44 | $1,113 |
| 45–54 | $1,776 |
| 55–64 | $1,428 |
| 65 and older | $1,141 |
This broader category includes tires and other costs not in the $695.47 measure. It includes non-spenders and does not show who visited an independent shop. BLS age-group tables
Local market comparison
The table compares businesses without paid employees across all 50 states and D.C. It includes a broader set of mechanical and electrical repair businesses than the general-repair-only employer figures above.
| State | Establishments | Gross receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3,970 | $198.0M |
| Alaska | 421 | $27.9M |
| Arizona | 4,375 | $285.9M |
| Arkansas | 2,551 | $147.1M |
| California | 21,726 | $1,543.5M |
| Colorado | 3,560 | $248.5M |
| Connecticut | 1,290 | $95.1M |
| Delaware | 549 | $37.0M |
| District of Columbia | 84 | $3.0M |
| Florida | 24,473 | $1,276.5M |
| Georgia | 11,191 | $560.1M |
| Hawaii | 596 | $47.3M |
| Idaho | 1,491 | $100.1M |
| Illinois | 8,456 | $542.1M |
| Indiana | 3,776 | $213.2M |
| Iowa | 2,049 | $132.4M |
| Kansas | 1,907 | $116.7M |
| Kentucky | 3,635 | $209.7M |
| Louisiana | 3,397 | $159.6M |
| Maine | 1,055 | $71.2M |
| Maryland | 3,268 | $206.8M |
| Massachusetts | 2,663 | $243.6M |
| Michigan | 5,343 | $300.6M |
| Minnesota | 2,856 | $207.1M |
| Mississippi | 2,804 | $118.8M |
| Missouri | 4,115 | $247.7M |
| Montana | 987 | $72.1M |
| Nebraska | 1,374 | $92.0M |
| Nevada | 1,916 | $109.1M |
| New Hampshire | 865 | $84.8M |
| New Jersey | 4,320 | $330.7M |
| New Mexico | 1,191 | $60.5M |
| New York | 7,492 | $442.5M |
| North Carolina | 7,823 | $435.3M |
| North Dakota | 539 | $36.0M |
| Ohio | 6,554 | $430.3M |
| Oklahoma | 3,189 | $194.5M |
| Oregon | 1,942 | $146.2M |
| Pennsylvania | 7,664 | $571.5M |
| Rhode Island | 486 | $32.0M |
| South Carolina | 3,971 | $216.2M |
| South Dakota | 702 | $45.0M |
| Tennessee | 5,445 | $294.5M |
| Texas | 33,184 | $1,746.9M |
| Utah | 1,809 | $116.2M |
| Vermont | 532 | $44.8M |
| Virginia | 4,487 | $264.6M |
| Washington | 2,965 | $170.7M |
| West Virginia | 952 | $54.0M |
| Wisconsin | 3,040 | $224.9M |
| Wyoming | 441 | $30.6M |
NAICS 81111 contains general and specialized activities. Not a count of customers or a general-shop-only revenue estimate. 2024 Census Nonemployer Statistics
The owner math
At $425 collected per order and $245 of direct parts and productive labor, an order leaves $180 toward fixed costs. If overhead is $12,000 a month, you need 67 paid orders to cover it. Reaching a separate $4,000 pre-tax owner management pay target requires 89.
| Setup | Paid orders/month | Gross sales | After modeled direct cost | What it takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near operating break-even | 67 | $28,475 | $12,060 | 168 productive technician hrs |
| Steady month | 88 | $37,400 | $15,840 | 220 productive technician hrs |
| Higher throughput | 110 | $46,750 | $19,800 | 275 productive technician hrs |
Assumes 2.5 productive technician hours per order. At 88 orders, there is $3,840 left after the assumed $12,000 in fixed overhead, before owner management pay, taxes, debt, non-modeled rework and other costs. An assumption is not a price benchmark or a promise of earnings.
Sources reviewed November 2026. The owner scenario is a model, not a record of actual earnings.