Fargo Car Wash Market Analysis
Fargo, ND-MN
Data updated · June 9, 2026
12,315 Google reviews across 157 Fargo car washes — a detail shop-dominant market. Format dominance breakdown, per-format quality, operator rank, customer-experience signals.
Snapshot
- Locations
- 157
- 82% independent
- Chains
- 12
- lead: Silverstar Car Wash (6 sites)
- Avg rating
- 4.44★
- near national MSA median
- Damage rate
- 1.6%
- near national MSA norm
- Cancel friction
- 16.8%
- Top format
- detail shop
- 59% of classified inventory
- Median single wash
- $12
- range $8–$12
- Median unlimited
- $26.99/mo
- cheapest $26.99/mo at Tommy's Express® Car Wash
Market Quality snapshot
- Population
- 254,914
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Households
- 107,607
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Residents per wash
- 1,624
- 1.2× denser than the national MSA median
- Express tunnels per 10K households
- 0.7
- in the 0.5–1.0 filling band · classified sites
Key findings
- 157 car wash locations operated by 12 chains and 129 independents across 2 counties.
- Detail shop dominates: 58.8% of formally-classified locations.
- Built from 12,315 Google reviews, 4,426 of them AI-extracted across 55 dimensions.
157 car wash locations across 2 counties · dots colored by format · sized by review volume
Fargo's car wash supply is structurally tilted toward detail shop. 58.8% of formally-classified locations operate as detail shop; the other formats appear at long-tail volume. Operating-quality signals below are best read as a study of detail shop's execution.
Headline operating signals: 4.44★ rating, 1.6% damage, 16.8% cancel friction. Aspect-level: Staff strong (0.82), equipment reliability weak (-0.68). The operator rank below shows which chains have committed most heavily to the dominant format.
Published pricing across the 4 of 157 Fargo locations with menus available: median single car wash $12 (range $8–$12), median unlimited membership $26.99/month (range $26.99–$26.99/mo). The cheapest unlimited membership in the metro is $26.99/mo at Tommy's Express® Car Wash (QUALITY).
See the top car wash chains in Fargo
Ranked by location count in the metro
What does a car wash cost in the Fargo metro?
Published menu pricing for car washes in the Fargo metropolitan area, captured from operator websites and the WashIndex AI calling agent. 4 of 157 tracked locations have usable published pricing (3% coverage).
| Cheapest unlimited memberships in Fargo | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash QUALITY | $26.99 per mo |
| 2 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash QUALITY | $26.99 per mo |
| Cheapest single car washes in Fargo | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kwik Trip Standard | $8 |
| 2 | Zips Car Wash Basic | $12 |
| 3 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash QUALITY | $12 |
| 4 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash QUALITY | $12 |
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.
The car wash industry in the Fargo metro, officially
the Fargo metro has 26 car-wash employer establishments employing about 246 people, at a $36,369 average annual wage.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW (private, NAICS 811192). Counts car-wash employer establishments, a narrower universe than all physical wash locations — see methodology.
About the Fargo car wash market
How many car washes are in the Fargo metro?
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What is the best-rated car wash in the Fargo metro?
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Which car wash chain has the most locations in Fargo?
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What is the average customer rating in the Fargo car wash market?
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What is the typical household income near car washes in Fargo?
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How much does a car wash cost in Fargo?
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How much does an unlimited car wash membership cost in Fargo?
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What is the cheapest car wash in Fargo?
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What kinds of car washes does Fargo have?
Format dominance is the structural story here. 20 of the 157 car washes in Fargo run as detail shop. The mini-table below shows how the rest of the market splits.
Highest-rated format: Detail Shop at 4.92★ across 20 locations. Lowest-rated: Full Service at 3.96★ (3 locations).
123 (78.3%) of 157 locations are unclassified — small independents whose websites don't surface enough signal for format assignment. Format-level statistics describe the classified subset only.
| Format | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage Rate | Cancel Friction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unclassified | 123 | 78.3% | 7,385 | 4.54 | 1.04% | 14.1% |
| Detail Shop | 20 | 12.7% | 1,267 | 4.92 | 0.30% | — |
| Express Tunnel | 7 | 4.5% | 1,822 | 4.13 | 5.73% | 22.4% |
| In-Bay Automatic | 3 | 1.9% | 154 | 4.38 | 0.00% | 20.0% |
| Full Service | 3 | 1.9% | 1,676 | 3.96 | 4.13% | 0.0% |
| Self-Serve Bay | 1 | 0.6% | 11 | 5.00 | 0.00% | — |
What is the household income near Fargo car washes?
66 car washes with ≥10 reviews are plotted below against ZIP-level mean AGI. With detail shop carrying 58.8% of classified locations, dot color reads heavily skewed toward a single hue.
Pearson r between ZIP income and Google rating across 66 qualifying locations: 0.21 — mild positive. Higher-income ZIPs host slightly better-rated washes, but operator execution still dominates. Scatter mean: $84K AGI/return, 4.43★.
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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — |
| $50K – $75K | 2 | 55 | 7,260 | 4.38 | Detail Shop (11) |
| $75K – $100K | 4 | 22 | 1,211 | 4.46 | Detail Shop (4) |
| $100K – $150K | 7 | 38 | 3,599 | 4.52 | Detail Shop (5) |
| $150K+ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — |
Highest vs. lowest income tier: 0 sites/0.00★ vs. 0 sites/0.00★. Where the dominant format runs 58.8% of classified sites, the per-tier breakdown mostly reflects how that single format ranges across income levels.
Who operates the most Fargo car washes?
Because Fargo skews so heavily to one format, the chain rank reads like a ranking of how well each chain executes that format. Locations, reviews, ratings, and operational signals follow.
| # | Chain | Locations | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage | Cancel | Upsell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silverstar Car Wash | 6 | 2,883 | 4.64 | 0.97% | 14.4% | 0.17% |
| 2 | Tommy's Express® Car Wash | 4 | 1,051 | 4.15 | 7.72% | 12.0% | 0.81% |
| 3 | Whale of a Wash | 4 | 499 | 3.86 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Circle K | 3 | 121 | 4.14 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Barnesville C-store | 2 | 38 | 4.36 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Zips Car Wash | 2 | 493 | 3.99 | 2.65% | — | 0.66% |
| 7 | Kwik Trip | 2 | 52 | 4.38 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash | 1 | 278 | 4.30 | 5.56% | — | 2.08% |
| 9 | Red Carpet Carwash | 1 | 215 | 4.20 | — | — | — |
| 10 | Blue Beacon | 1 | 674 | 4.10 | 2.00% | — | 0.00% |
| 11 | Casey's | 1 | 142 | 3.20 | — | — | — |
| 12 | Simonson Station Stores | 1 | 116 | 4.50 | — | — | — |
Which counties have the most car washes in Fargo?
2 counties make up the Fargo CBSA. Because format mix is so concentrated metro-wide, county-level format mix usually follows the metro-wide pattern — though density (locations per capita) varies.
Cross-county rating dispersion: 0.35★ between the highest- and lowest-rated counties with meaningful sample size.
| County | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass County | 118 | 75.2% | 11,116 | 4.47 |
| Clay County | 39 | 24.8% | 1,199 | 4.12 |
What do customers love and complain about in Fargo?
Aspect averages below are heavily shaped by Fargo's dominant format. Since 58.8% of formally-classified locations operate as detail shop, the aspect mix is closer to a detail shop read than to a multi-format average.
Where are all the car washes in the Fargo metro?
Top locations by review count in Fargo. With 58.8% of classified sites running as detail shop, the format column below reads consistently rather than varying across the list.
| Location | City | Format | Chain | Rating | Reviews | ZIP AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kia of Fargo 140 40th St S | Fargo, ND | — | — | 4.7 | 2,492 | $71K |
| Silverstar Car Wash 4475 Calico Dr S | Fargo, ND | — | Silverstar Car Wash | 4.7 | 961 | $102K |
| Blue Beacon Truck Wash of Fargo, ND 4750 19th Ave SW, I-94, 4750 19th Ave S | Fargo, ND | Full Service | Blue Beacon | 4.1 | 674 | $71K |
| Don's Car Washes - 13th Ave 2727 13th Ave S | Fargo, ND | Full Service | — | 3.7 | 667 | $71K |
| Tommy's Express® Car Wash 4682 32nd Ave S | Fargo, ND | Express Tunnel | Tommy's Express® Car Wash | 4.2 | 563 | $102K |
| Silverstar Car Wash 2120 Sheyenne St | West Fargo, ND | — | Silverstar Car Wash | 4.6 | 559 | $108K |
| Silverstar Car Wash 2980 52nd Ave S | Fargo, ND | — | Silverstar Car Wash | 4.5 | 380 | $102K |
| Silverstar Car Wash 2901 Uptown Wy S | Fargo, ND | — | Silverstar Car Wash | 4.7 | 354 | $102K |
| Zips Car Wash 3410 28th Ave S | Moorhead, MN | Express Tunnel | Zips Car Wash | 3.9 | 342 | $69K |
| Silverstar Car Wash 2511 University Dr S | Fargo, ND | — | Silverstar Car Wash | 4.6 | 337 | $71K |
| Northstar Truck Wash 990 35th St N | Fargo, ND | Full Service | — | 4.2 | 335 | $94K |
| Silverstar Car Wash 2901 13th Ave S | Fargo, ND | — | Silverstar Car Wash | 4.7 | 292 | $71K |
| Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash 4207 13th Ave SW | Fargo, ND | Express Tunnel | Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash | 4.3 | 278 | $71K |
| Tommy's Express® Car Wash 1702 40th St S | Fargo, ND | Express Tunnel | Tommy's Express® Car Wash | 4.2 | 219 | $71K |
| Whale of A Wash 3131 12th Ave N | Fargo, ND | — | Whale of a Wash | 3.9 | 217 | $94K |
| In-&-Out Auto Detailing 4066 98th Ave S | Fargo, ND | Detail Shop | — | 5.0 | 216 | $102K |
| Red Carpet 3441 13th Ave S | Fargo, ND | — | Red Carpet Carwash | 4.2 | 215 | $71K |
| Straight Line Detailing 3954 9th Ave S | Fargo, ND | Detail Shop | — | 5.0 | 195 | $71K |
| X-treme Detailing 1820 Sheyenne Lp N # 9 | Fargo, ND | Detail Shop | — | 4.9 | 182 | $94K |
| Tommy's Express® Car Wash 3102 US-10 | Moorhead, MN | Express Tunnel | Tommy's Express® Car Wash | 4.1 | 152 | $69K |
| Zips Car Wash 1345 25th Ave S | Fargo, ND | Express Tunnel | Zips Car Wash | 4.2 | 151 | $71K |
| Whale of a Wash 711 32nd Ave S | Moorhead, MN | — | Whale of a Wash | 4.0 | 149 | $69K |
| Casey's 5680 23rd Ave S | Fargo, ND | — | Casey's | 3.2 | 142 | $102K |
| Brady's Service Center 2404 So 8th St | Moorhead, MN | — | — | 4.1 | 140 | $69K |
| Tommy's Express® Car Wash 3115 8th St S | Moorhead, MN | Express Tunnel | Tommy's Express® Car Wash | 3.9 | 117 | $69K |
Compare Fargo to other ND car wash markets
Each link drills into a full per-metro analysis — operator concentration, format mix, and customer-experience signals against the same methodology.
Data as of 2026-06-09. Pick a format and click Copy.
WashIndex. (2026, June 9). Fargo car wash market analysis. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/fargo
WashIndex. "Fargo car wash market analysis." WashIndex. Last modified June 9, 2026. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/fargo.
"Fargo car wash market analysis." WashIndex, Jun. 9, 2026, https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/fargo.
@misc{washindex_car_wash_markets_fargo_2026,
title = {{Fargo car wash market analysis}},
author = {{WashIndex}},
year = {2026},
month = {Jun},
url = {https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/fargo},
urldate = {2026-06-09},
} About this analysis
Car wash inventory for the Fargo, ND-MN CBSA is determined by point-in-polygon test against the official US Census county boundaries (TIGER/Line, 2024) for the 2 counties that make up the MSA. Each location was verified to fall inside one of those county polygons; lat/lng comes from Google Maps metadata.
Operating-quality signals are derived from 4,426 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.
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