Akron, OH Car Wash Market Analysis
Part of the Akron, OH MSA.
Data updated · June 9, 2026
6,921 Google reviews across 31 car wash locations in this chain-consolidated city market. Operator concentration, per-chain quality, format mix, customer-experience signals.
Snapshot
- Locations
- 31
- Chains
- 10
- lead: Sheetz (3)
- Avg rating
- 4.44★
- Damage rate
- 1.3%
- Top format
- detail shop
- 35% of classified
- Median single wash
- $20
- range $10–$32
- Median unlimited
- $39.95/mo
- cheapest $22/mo at Quality Scrub Car Wash
Market Quality snapshot
- Population
- 189,526
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Households
- 83,854
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Residents per wash
- 6,114
- 3.2× the national MSA median — lighter supply
- Express tunnels per 10K households
- 0.7
- in the 0.5–1.0 filling band · classified sites
Key findings
- 31 car wash locations operated by 10 chains and 14 independents.
- Top 10 chains control 54.8% of locations — above the 11.4% US-market median, led by Sheetz (3 sites).
- Built from 6,921 Google reviews, 2,133 of them AI-extracted across 55 dimensions.
31 car wash locations in Akron, OH · dots colored by format · sized by review volume
Akron stands out for how much chain rollup has reshaped supply. 10 chains operate alongside 14 independents, but Sheetz (3 sites) accounts for the largest single concentration. Most of the quality variance below comes from chain-vs-chain differences rather than chain-vs-independent ones.
Weighted across all locations the average Google rating is 4.44★; reviewer-reported damage runs at 1.3%, and membership-cancellation friction at 23.8% of mem-discussing reviews. Aspect spread: Staff (0.83) on the positive side, equipment reliability (-0.75) on the friction side. The chain-rank table below is the most actionable section on this page.
Published pricing across the 11 of 31 Akron locations with menus available: median single car wash $20 (range $10–$32), median unlimited membership $39.95/month (range $22–$60/mo). The cheapest unlimited membership in the city is $22/mo at Quality Scrub Car Wash (Express).
See the best-rated car washes in Akron, OH
Ranked by Google review rating
What does a car wash cost in Akron, OH?
Published menu pricing for car washes in Akron, captured from operator websites and the WashIndex AI calling agent. 11 of 31 tracked locations in the city have usable published pricing (35% coverage).
| Cheapest unlimited memberships in Akron | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quality Scrub Car Wash Express | $22/mo |
| 2 | Quality Scrub Car Wash Express | $22/mo |
| 3 | Quick N Clean Express Wash Wipe Out | $25/mo |
| 4 | Splash Car Wash of Green The Splash Unlimited (Coventry) | $28.99/mo |
| 5 | Quick Clean Car & Pet Wash Store, Ltd. PROTECT | $39.95/mo |
| Cheapest single car washes in Akron | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quality Scrub Car Wash Express | $10 |
| 2 | Quality Scrub Car Wash Express | $10 |
| 3 | Montrose Laserwash WASH & DRY | $12 |
| 4 | Soak City Car Wash Hurricane | $20 |
| 5 | Classic Choice Car Wash Hand Wash | $25 |
Pricing scraped from operator websites where published; the WashIndex AI calling agent rings up locations that don’t publish menus online to capture pricing directly.
Car wash financing in Akron, OH
Since 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration has backed 11 car-wash loans in Akron, OH worth $5.3M, at a median of $339,000 per car wash. About 45% funded brand-new or startup car washes.
- New build / open45% · $339K
- Expansion / improvement18% · $835K
- Working capital18% · $22K
- Unclassified18% · $208K
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) & 504 FOIA datasets (NAICS 811192), data through 2026-03-31. See the Car Wash Lending Tracker for national figures and methodology.
About Akron, OH
How many car washes are in Akron, OH?
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What is the best-rated car wash in Akron, OH?
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Which car wash chains operate in Akron, OH?
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What is the median household income near Akron car washes?
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What is the average car wash rating in Akron, OH?
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How much does a car wash cost in Akron, OH?
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How much does an unlimited car wash membership cost in Akron, OH?
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What is the cheapest car wash in Akron, OH?
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What kinds of car washes does Akron have?
Because chain operators have consolidated supply here, format counts below skew toward the formats those chains build at scale. The lowest-rated format is usually a long-tail mix of small operators rather than a meaningful share of the market.
Highest-rated format in this market: Detail Shop at 4.86★ (11 locations). Lowest: In-Bay Automatic at 3.75★ (11 locations).
| Format | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage Rate | Cancel Friction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detail Shop | 11 | 35.5% | 841 | 4.86 | 0.18% | 0.0% |
| In-Bay Automatic | 11 | 35.5% | 1,553 | 3.75 | 0.75% | 50.0% |
| Express Tunnel | 6 | 19.4% | 4,086 | 4.65 | 1.60% | 22.1% |
| Full Service | 3 | 9.7% | 441 | 4.11 | 11.11% | 40.0% |
What is the typical household income near Akron car washes?
31 Akron locations with at least 10 Google reviews are plotted below against ZIP-level mean IRS AGI. The income picture in a consolidated market mostly reflects where the dominant operators saw the strongest unit economics.
Pearson r between ZIP income and rating across 31 qualifying locations: -0.04 — effectively zero. Operating quality dominates over neighborhood income here. Scatter mean: $65K AGI/return, 4.28★.
Car wash count and quality by income tier
Blue bars: location count per tier. Orange tick marks: average Google rating (same y-axis).
| Income tier (mean AGI/return) | ZIPs | Locations | Reviews | Avg Rating | Top Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $50K | 6 | 12 | 1,318 | 4.32 | Detail Shop (5) |
| $50K – $75K | 2 | 14 | 5,051 | 4.50 | In-Bay Automatic (7) |
| $75K – $100K | 1 | 1 | 218 | 4.00 | Full Service (1) |
| $100K – $150K | 1 | 1 | 60 | 5.00 | Detail Shop (1) |
| $150K+ | 1 | 3 | 274 | 4.11 | In-Bay Automatic (2) |
Top vs. bottom tier spread: 3 sites at 4.11★ (income $150K+) vs. 12 sites at 4.32★ (income Under $50K). For Akron's consolidated chain operators, the middle-income band is where the strongest deployment density typically sits.
Who operates the most Akron car washes?
In Akron, where chain share runs above the US-market median, the chain-level breakdown below is where most of the operating-quality signal sits. Sheetz alone runs 3 of the metro's 31 sites; per-chain rating, damage rate, and membership-friction numbers follow.
| # | Chain | Locations | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage | Cancel | Upsell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheetz | 3 | 538 | 3.26 | 0.00% | — | 0.00% |
| 2 | Quality Scrub Car Wash | 2 | 427 | 4.10 | — | — | — |
| 3 | Petit Auto Wash | 2 | 374 | 3.94 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Hometown Car Wash | 2 | 306 | 4.22 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Rubber Duck Auto Wash | 2 | 131 | 4.01 | — | — | — |
| 6 | bp | 2 | 110 | 3.86 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Blue Falls Car Wash | 1 | 53 | 3.10 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Soak City Car Wash | 1 | 474 | 4.30 | 4.50% | — | 1.80% |
| 9 | Splash Car Wash of Green | 1 | 552 | 4.00 | — | — | — |
| 10 | ModWash | 1 | 2,673 | 4.90 | 0.88% | 22.4% | 0.10% |
What do customers love and complain about at Akron car washes?
2,133 reviews feed the aspect grid below; each is computed as (positive − negative) / total, on a -1…+1 scale. In Akron, the dominant chains' aspect profiles drive most of the metro-wide score.
Where are the 31 car washes in Akron, OH?
31 car washes in the Akron city; the top of the list (ranked by review volume) is shown below. Most high-volume sites here belong to a top-10 chain.
| Location | City | Format | Chain | Rating | Reviews | ZIP AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ModWash 3152 Manchester Rd | Akron, OH | Express Tunnel | ModWash | 4.9 | 2,673 | $74K |
| Splash Car Wash of Green 3405 S Arlington Rd | Akron, OH | Express Tunnel | Splash Car Wash of Green | 4.0 | 552 | $56K |
| Soak City Car Wash 2156 E Waterloo Rd | Akron, OH | Express Tunnel | Soak City Car Wash | 4.3 | 474 | $56K |
| Sheetz 20 W Waterloo Rd | Akron, OH | In-Bay Automatic | Sheetz | 3.0 | 306 | $74K |
| Quick Clean Car & Pet Wash Store, Ltd. 2500 Mayfair Rd | Akron, OH | In-Bay Automatic | Hometown Car Wash | 4.2 | 281 | $56K |
| Quick N Clean Express Wash 1645 Home Ave | Akron, OH | Express Tunnel | — | 4.4 | 256 | $37K |
| Quality Scrub Car Wash 30 Frank Blvd | Akron, OH | Full Service | Quality Scrub Car Wash | 4.0 | 218 | $77K |
| Petit Auto Wash 110 N Canton Rd | Akron, OH | In-Bay Automatic | Petit Auto Wash | 3.9 | 217 | $42K |
| Quality Scrub Car Wash 1668 S Hawkins Ave | Akron, OH | Full Service | Quality Scrub Car Wash | 4.2 | 209 | $44K |
| Shine N Drive Auto Detailing 123 E Waterloo Rd | Akron, OH | Detail Shop | — | 5.0 | 180 | $74K |
Compare Akron to other car wash markets in the Akron metro
Cities in the same metro, ordered by closest comparable size. Each link runs the same operator concentration, format mix, and customer-experience analysis.
Data as of 2026-06-09. Pick a format and click Copy.
WashIndex. (2026, June 9). Akron, OH car wash market analysis. https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/akron-oh
WashIndex. "Akron, OH car wash market analysis." WashIndex. Last modified June 9, 2026. https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/akron-oh.
"Akron, OH car wash market analysis." WashIndex, Jun. 9, 2026, https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/akron-oh.
@misc{washindex_car_wash_cities_akron_oh_2026,
title = {{Akron, OH car wash market analysis}},
author = {{WashIndex}},
year = {2026},
month = {Jun},
url = {https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/akron-oh},
urldate = {2026-06-09},
} About this analysis
Car wash inventory for Akron, OH is sourced from the WashIndex national car-wash place index, filtered to places whose Google-Maps-reported city matches Akron, and further restricted to places whose format the WashIndex LLM classifier identified as a car wash (excluding dealerships, gas stations, and other auto-related businesses that don't primarily operate a car wash). Inclusion in the parent Akron MSA dataset is established by point-in-polygon against the official US Census county boundaries (TIGER/Line, 2024).
Operating-quality signals are derived from 2,133 customer reviews processed through WashIndex's 55-field LLM extraction pipeline. Format classification comes from a separate per-location website-reading classifier. ZIP-level income data is from the IRS Statistics of Income (tax year 2022) — mean Adjusted Gross Income per tax return, which is directionally aligned with ACS median household income but available without authentication.
See our full methodology for the extraction pipeline, validation samples, and aggregation logic. Term definitions in the glossary.
Machine-readable: JSON ↓ · API root
Free tools: membership break-even · site opportunity · ROI calculator