Tampa, FL Car Wash Market Analysis
Part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA.
Data updated · June 9, 2026
26,216 Google reviews across 97 car wash locations in this chain-consolidated city market. Operator concentration, per-chain quality, format mix, customer-experience signals.
Snapshot
- Locations
- 97
- Chains
- 18
- lead: Circle K (10)
- Avg rating
- 4.50★
- +0.09 vs MSA median
- Damage rate
- 1.3%
- Top format
- detail shop
- 55% of classified
- Median single wash
- $15
- range $10–$50
- Median unlimited
- $22.99/mo
- cheapest $19.99/mo at Blu Swan Express Carwash
Market Quality snapshot
- Population
- 393,389
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Households
- 160,527
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Residents per wash
- 4,056
- 2.1× the national MSA median — lighter supply
- Express tunnels per 10K households
- 1.3
- above ~1.0 — contested · classified sites
Key findings
- 97 car wash locations operated by 18 chains and 57 independents.
- Top 10 chains control 33.0% of locations — above the 11.4% US-market median, led by Circle K (10 sites).
- Built from 26,216 Google reviews, 10,879 of them AI-extracted across 55 dimensions.
97 car wash locations in Tampa, FL · dots colored by format · sized by review volume
Operator concentration in Tampa sits well above the US-market norm. Across 97 tracked locations, the top ten operators control 33.0% of supply — above the 11.4% US-market median, with Circle K the largest at 10 sites. Most of the quality variance below comes from chain-vs-chain differences rather than chain-vs-independent ones.
Operating-quality aggregates: rating 4.50★, damage 1.3%, membership-cancel friction 15.0%. Aspect spread: Staff (0.86) on the positive side, equipment reliability (-0.35) on the friction side. The chain-rank table below is the most actionable section on this page.
Published pricing across the 25 of 99 Tampa locations with menus available: median single car wash $15 (range $10–$50), median unlimited membership $22.99/month (range $19.99–$99/mo). The cheapest unlimited membership in the city is $19.99/mo at Blu Swan Express Carwash (Majestic Swan).
See the best-rated car washes in Tampa, FL
Ranked by Google review rating
What does a car wash cost in Tampa, FL?
Published menu pricing for car washes in Tampa, captured from operator websites and the WashIndex AI calling agent. 25 of 99 tracked locations in the city have usable published pricing (25% coverage).
| Cheapest unlimited memberships in Tampa | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blu Swan Express Carwash Majestic Swan | $19.99/mo |
| 2 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash QUALITY | $22.99/mo |
| 3 | Mister Car Wash BASE | $22.99/mo |
| 4 | Mister Car Wash BASE | $22.99/mo |
| 5 | Mister Car Wash BASE | $22.99/mo |
| Cheapest single car washes in Tampa | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash QUALITY | $10 |
| 2 | Mister Car Wash Base | $10 |
| 3 | Mister Car Wash Base | $10 |
| 4 | Mister Car Wash Base | $10 |
| 5 | Mister Car Wash Base | $10 |
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 Tampa, FL
Since 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration has backed 14 car-wash loans in Tampa, FL worth $20.1M, at a median of $1,319,000 per car wash and a 0.0% charge-off rate. About 43% funded brand-new or startup car washes.
FY2026 annualized from its first 6 months.
- New build / open43% · $2.6M
- Acquisition7% · $1.4M
- Expansion / improvement36% · $924K
- Working capital7% · $150K
- Unclassified7% · $280K
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 Tampa, FL
How many car washes are in Tampa, FL?
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What is the best-rated car wash in Tampa, FL?
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Which car wash chains operate in Tampa, FL?
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What is the median household income near Tampa car washes?
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What is the average car wash rating in Tampa, FL?
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How much does a car wash cost in Tampa, FL?
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How much does an unlimited car wash membership cost in Tampa, FL?
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What is the cheapest car wash in Tampa, FL?
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What kinds of car washes does Tampa 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 4.83★ (53 locations). Lowest: In-Bay Automatic at 3.30★ (13 locations).
| Format | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage Rate | Cancel Friction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detail Shop | 53 | 54.6% | 6,149 | 4.83 | 0.24% | 12.5% |
| Express Tunnel | 21 | 21.6% | 16,180 | 4.44 | 1.91% | 15.2% |
| In-Bay Automatic | 13 | 13.4% | 610 | 3.30 | 0.82% | 0.0% |
| Full Service | 5 | 5.2% | 2,104 | 4.57 | 0.27% | 0.0% |
| Self-Serve Bay | 5 | 5.2% | 1,173 | 4.01 | 1.32% | — |
What is the typical household income near Tampa car washes?
97 Tampa 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 97 qualifying locations: -0.28 — mild negative. Higher-income ZIPs host slightly lower-rated washes on average, which is unusual. Scatter mean: $95K AGI/return, 4.46★.
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 | 2 | 14 | 6,027 | 4.43 | Detail Shop (5) |
| $50K – $75K | 12 | 52 | 14,484 | 4.65 | Detail Shop (32) |
| $75K – $100K | 2 | 9 | 2,741 | 4.25 | Detail Shop (6) |
| $100K – $150K | 3 | 12 | 1,910 | 4.05 | Detail Shop (7) |
| $150K+ | 5 | 12 | 1,054 | 4.27 | Detail Shop (5) |
The highest-income tier ($150K+) holds 12 car washes across 5 ZIPs at 4.27★; the lowest-income tier (Under $50K) holds 14 across 2 ZIPs at 4.43★. In a chain-consolidated market like Tampa, the income mix mostly reads as a record of where the top operators chose to deploy — middle-income ZIPs typically anchor the densest rollouts.
Who operates the most Tampa car washes?
18 chains operate in Tampa, with the top ten holding 33.0% of supply. Damage rate, cancel friction, and per-aspect ratings are broken out per chain — useful for understanding which operators drive the metro's headline numbers.
| # | Chain | Locations | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage | Cancel | Upsell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Circle K | 10 | 576 | 3.26 | 0.93% | — | 0.00% |
| 2 | Mister Car Wash | 5 | 4,024 | 3.75 | 3.54% | 12.2% | 3.16% |
| 3 | bp | 3 | 34 | 4.05 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Baywash Car Wash | 2 | 356 | 3.90 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Big Dan's Car Wash | 2 | 1,003 | 4.63 | 2.07% | 18.5% | 0.62% |
| 6 | CarWash Points - Hollywood | 2 | 345 | 4.90 | 0.00% | — | 0.76% |
| 7 | Radiant Express Car Wash | 2 | 169 | 4.30 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Links Car Wash | 2 | 454 | 4.67 | 1.32% | 9.3% | 0.26% |
| 9 | ModWash | 2 | 2,761 | 4.80 | 0.58% | 13.9% | 0.97% |
| 10 | Tepui Car Wash and Services | 2 | 81 | 5.00 | — | — | — |
| 11 | Express Wash Car Wash | 1 | 731 | 4.60 | 4.27% | — | 0.00% |
| 12 | Take 5 Car Wash | 1 | 799 | 4.50 | 3.44% | 34.2% | 2.01% |
| 13 | Dirty Dog's Car Wash Tampa | 1 | 1,019 | 4.70 | 2.54% | 30.8% | 0.85% |
| 14 | Top Edge Car Wash Tampa | 1 | 1,360 | 4.60 | 1.77% | 13.0% | 0.35% |
| 15 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash | 1 | 2,174 | 4.50 | 1.85% | 10.1% | 0.37% |
| 16 | CherryDetailing | 1 | 43 | 4.70 | — | — | — |
| 17 | Ardex by Ardex Labs | Tampa | 1 | 74 | 4.40 | — | — | — |
| 18 | ALSET Auto | 1 | 107 | 5.00 | 0.00% | — | 0.00% |
What do customers love and complain about at Tampa car washes?
Aspect scores below aggregate the LLM extractions across all 97 locations in Tampa. In a consolidated market, these aggregates skew toward the dominant chains' operating signatures — read alongside the chain rank above.
Where are the 97 car washes in Tampa, FL?
97 car washes in the Tampa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy's Express® Car Wash 3825 W Waters Ave | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | Tommy's Express® Car Wash | 4.5 | 2,174 | $41K |
| ModWash 986 S Falkenburg Rd | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | ModWash | 4.9 | 2,080 | $53K |
| Top Edge Car Wash Tampa 5416 W Waters Ave | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | Top Edge Car Wash Tampa | 4.6 | 1,360 | $60K |
| Tampa's Best Wash 5911 E Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd | Tampa, FL | Full Service | — | 4.5 | 1,327 | $53K |
| Blu Swan Express Carwash 10260 N 30th St | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | — | 4.9 | 1,113 | $50K |
| Mister Car Wash 2230 N Dale Mabry Hwy | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | Mister Car Wash | 3.6 | 1,101 | $76K |
| Dirty Dog's Car Wash Tampa 6301 E Hillsborough Ave | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | Dirty Dog's Car Wash Tampa | 4.7 | 1,019 | $47K |
| Mister Car Wash 8101 N Dale Mabry Hwy | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | Mister Car Wash | 3.8 | 969 | $41K |
| Mister Car Wash 3622 W Gandy Blvd | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | Mister Car Wash | 3.7 | 906 | $137K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 12221 W Hillsborough Ave | Tampa, FL | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.5 | 799 | $70K |
Compare Tampa to other car wash markets in the Tampa 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). Tampa, FL car wash market analysis. https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/tampa-fl
WashIndex. "Tampa, FL car wash market analysis." WashIndex. Last modified June 9, 2026. https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/tampa-fl.
"Tampa, FL car wash market analysis." WashIndex, Jun. 9, 2026, https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/tampa-fl.
@misc{washindex_car_wash_cities_tampa_fl_2026,
title = {{Tampa, FL car wash market analysis}},
author = {{WashIndex}},
year = {2026},
month = {Jun},
url = {https://washindex.com/car-wash-cities/tampa-fl},
urldate = {2026-06-09},
} About this analysis
Car wash inventory for Tampa, FL is sourced from the WashIndex national car-wash place index, filtered to places whose Google-Maps-reported city matches Tampa, 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 Tampa MSA dataset is established by point-in-polygon against the official US Census county boundaries (TIGER/Line, 2024).
Operating-quality signals are derived from 10,879 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
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