Memphis Car Wash Market Analysis
Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Data updated · June 9, 2026
A read of Memphis's car wash market built from 59,922 Google reviews across 617 locations. Format mix, operator rank, county breakdown, rating vs. income, aspect-level customer signals.
Snapshot
- Locations
- 617
- 84% independent
- Chains
- 23
- lead: Take 5 Car Wash (21 sites)
- Avg rating
- 4.50★
- +0.09 vs national MSA median
- Damage rate
- 1.3%
- near national MSA norm
- Cancel friction
- 14.2%
- Top format
- express tunnel
- 54% of classified inventory
Market Quality snapshot
- Population
- 1,341,606
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Households
- 517,674
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Residents per wash
- 2,174
- near the national MSA median
- Express tunnels per 10K households
- 1.1
- above ~1.0 — contested · classified sites
Key findings
- 617 car wash locations operated by 23 chains and 517 independents across 9 counties.
- Weighted Google rating 4.50★ across the market; structural concentration and format mix sit near US-metro norms.
- Built from 59,922 Google reviews, 19,898 of them AI-extracted across 55 dimensions.
617 car wash locations across 9 counties · dots colored by format · sized by review volume
Memphis's car wash market reads as US-metro-typical in shape; the distinctive cuts are at the format and aspect levels. 617 locations across 23 chains and 517 independents, distributed across 9 counties. Distinctive patterns show up below at the format and aspect levels.
Weighted rating 4.50★; damage 1.3%; membership-cancel friction 14.2%. Equipment reliability runs as the sharpest friction (-0.42). 59,922 Google reviews drive the analysis, 19,898 of them processed through the WashIndex LLM extractor.
See the top car wash chains in Memphis
Ranked by location count in the metro
The car wash industry in the Memphis metro, officially
Fast-growingthe Memphis metro is one of the faster-growing car-wash job markets: employer establishments grew 40% from 2022 to 2024 — ahead of the ~7% national pace — to 81, now employing about 587 people at a $27,021 average 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 Memphis car wash market
How many car washes are in the Memphis metro?
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What is the best-rated car wash in the Memphis metro?
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Which car wash chain has the most locations in Memphis?
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What is the average customer rating in the Memphis car wash market?
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What is the typical household income near car washes in Memphis?
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What kinds of car washes does Memphis have?
The format mix in Memphis reads as a typical mid-market US metro — express tunnels and detail shops carrying the bulk of supply, with full-service and self-serve layered in. The bar chart pairs location count with per-format average rating.
Highest-rated format: Detail Shop at 4.83★ across 26 locations. Lowest-rated: In-Bay Automatic at 3.86★ (17 locations).
| Format | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage Rate | Cancel Friction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Express Tunnel | 56 | 9.1% | 45,708 | 4.58 | 1.32% | 14.1% |
| Detail Shop | 26 | 4.2% | 1,667 | 4.83 | 0.63% | — |
| In-Bay Automatic | 17 | 2.8% | 595 | 3.86 | 0.00% | — |
| Full Service | 4 | 0.6% | 1,731 | 3.87 | 1.20% | — |
What is the household income near Memphis car washes?
Each ZIP in Memphis is joined to IRS Statistics-of-Income (tax year 2022) and to the per-location Google rating dataset. The scatter below sizes dots by review volume and colors them by format.
Pearson r between ZIP income and Google rating across 214 qualifying locations: 0.06 — effectively zero. Operating quality dominates over neighborhood income. Scatter mean: $67K AGI/return, 4.14★.
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 | 23 | 184 | 20,155 | 4.42 | Detail Shop (16) |
| $50K – $75K | 18 | 131 | 20,807 | 4.55 | Express Tunnel (22) |
| $75K – $100K | 6 | 50 | 5,841 | 4.49 | Express Tunnel (8) |
| $100K – $150K | 5 | 41 | 10,400 | 4.53 | Express Tunnel (9) |
| $150K+ | 6 | 13 | 1,267 | 4.18 | Express Tunnel (2) |
Income band spread: 13/4.18★ at the highest tier; 184/4.42★ at the lowest. In a balanced market, the per-tier read is most useful as a sanity check on whether the operating quality is income-uniform or income-stratified.
Who operates the most Memphis car washes?
23 chains run sites in Memphis; the top 25 are listed below by location count, with their per-chain operating-quality numbers next to them. Useful for narrowing competitive-set considerations or for M&A evaluation.
| # | Chain | Locations | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage | Cancel | Upsell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take 5 Car Wash | 21 | 31,579 | 4.59 | 1.10% | 15.3% | 0.60% |
| 2 | bp | 17 | 508 | 3.73 | — | — | — |
| 3 | Century Express Carwash | 8 | 1,001 | 4.50 | 8.40% | — | 0.00% |
| 4 | Glide Xpress Car Wash | 8 | 5,921 | 4.75 | 1.51% | 11.6% | 0.10% |
| 5 | Circle K | 8 | 350 | 3.04 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Zips Car Wash | 7 | 4,521 | 4.20 | 3.10% | 18.8% | 0.65% |
| 7 | Club Car Wash | 4 | 754 | 4.78 | 0.75% | 6.3% | 1.12% |
| 8 | Shell | 3 | 140 | 2.99 | — | — | — |
| 9 | Bud's Car Wash and Laundry | 3 | 314 | 4.31 | — | — | — |
| 10 | Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash | 3 | 1,134 | 4.73 | 1.77% | 13.9% | 0.48% |
| 11 | Blue Beacon | 2 | 1,486 | 3.94 | 1.40% | — | 2.80% |
| 12 | Valero | 2 | 23 | 3.31 | — | — | — |
| 13 | Showroom Mobile Car Detailing | 2 | 156 | 5.00 | — | — | — |
| 14 | Mid-South Dent Pro | 2 | 138 | 4.63 | — | — | — |
| 15 | Memphis Wash Co. | 2 | 311 | 4.75 | 2.21% | — | 1.33% |
| 16 | Truck Wash at Love's Travel Stops | 1 | 102 | 4.50 | — | — | — |
| 17 | Car Genie Mobile Detail | 1 | 11 | 3.10 | — | — | — |
| 18 | Car Wash USA Express | 1 | 15 | 3.20 | — | — | — |
| 19 | Shine Time Super Wash | 1 | 176 | 4.30 | — | — | — |
| 20 | KINGS DETAILING | 1 | 30 | 4.40 | — | — | — |
| 21 | Will's Auto Spa | 1 | 61 | 4.90 | — | — | — |
| 22 | Sparkling Image Car Wash | 1 | 776 | 3.70 | 3.57% | — | 1.53% |
| 23 | Exxon | 1 | 62 | 4.20 | — | — | — |
Which counties have the most car washes in Memphis?
Memphis's 617 car washes distribute across 9 counties. Shelby County leads with 424 locations (68.7%). Cross-county rating dispersion is usually narrow at this scale.
Cross-county rating dispersion: 1.16★ between the highest- and lowest-rated counties with meaningful sample size.
| County | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County | 424 | 68.7% | 44,454 | 4.51 |
| DeSoto County | 98 | 15.9% | 9,029 | 4.50 |
| Crittenden County | 29 | 4.7% | 2,625 | 4.09 |
| Tipton County | 17 | 2.8% | 1,515 | 4.62 |
| Marshall County | 16 | 2.6% | 108 | 3.84 |
| Fayette County | 14 | 2.3% | 1,951 | 4.68 |
| Tate County | 12 | 1.9% | 138 | 4.36 |
| Benton County | 7 | 1.1% | 57 | 5.00 |
| Tunica County | 5 | 0.8% | 45 | 4.04 |
What do customers love and complain about in Memphis?
Reading the aspect grid: numbers above 0.3 are strong positives; numbers below -0.1 indicate meaningful friction; in between is mixed signal. staff is the brightest spot here. equipment reliability is the pain point.
Where are all the car washes in the Memphis metro?
The complete inventory of car wash locations in the Memphis MSA is captured in the underlying dataset; the table below shows the highest-review-volume sites for at-a-glance comparison. Each row shows operator, address, format, chain affiliation, rating, review count, and the IRS mean AGI for the ZIP.
| Location | City | Format | Chain | Rating | Reviews | ZIP AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Take 5 Car Wash 4349 Summer Ave | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.5 | 2,260 | $41K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 3419 Elvis Presley Blvd | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.6 | 2,096 | $37K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 1675 Union Ave | Memphis, TN | — | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.5 | 1,951 | $105K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 6040 Mt Moriah Rd | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,832 | $35K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 5130 Copper Creek Blvd | Millington, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.5 | 1,725 | $61K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 7273 US-64 | Oakland, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,718 | $74K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 3736 Riverdale Rd | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.6 | 1,692 | $35K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 2750 S Perkins Rd | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.6 | 1,678 | $34K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 6975 Stage Rd | Bartlett, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.6 | 1,538 | $75K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 62 Moore Dr | Southaven, MS | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.6 | 1,481 | $51K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 161 New Byhalia Rd | Collierville, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.6 | 1,452 | $145K |
| Shine and Roll Car Wash 3610 Centennial Dr | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | — | 5.0 | 1,435 | $65K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 10003 Macon Rd | Cordova, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,398 | $64K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 1270 Lamar Ave | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,384 | $105K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 3405 Austin Peay Hwy | Memphis, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.5 | 1,381 | $36K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 9122 US-64 | Lakeland, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,381 | $105K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 67 Munford Ave | Munford, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,280 | $66K |
| Glide Xpress Car Wash 723 N Germantown Pkwy | Cordova, TN | Express Tunnel | Glide Xpress Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,268 | $73K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 374 E Poplar Ave | Collierville, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.6 | 1,251 | $145K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 6071 Goodman Rd | Olive Branch, MS | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.4 | 1,200 | $78K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 434 S Germantown Pkwy | Cordova, TN | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.4 | 1,075 | $73K |
| Glide Xpress Car Wash 602 Goodman Rd E | Southaven, MS | Express Tunnel | Glide Xpress Car Wash | 4.7 | 1,046 | $51K |
| Blue Beacon Truck Wash of West Memphis, AR 3600 Service Road Loop, I-40/55 Exit 280/4, 3600 Service Loop Dr | West Memphis, AR | Full Service | Blue Beacon | 3.9 | 958 | $45K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 909 N Missouri St | West Memphis, AR | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.5 | 937 | $45K |
| Glide Xpress Car Wash 1025 W Poplar Ave | Collierville, TN | Express Tunnel | Glide Xpress Car Wash | 4.7 | 897 | $145K |
Compare Memphis to other TN 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). Memphis car wash market analysis. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/memphis
WashIndex. "Memphis car wash market analysis." WashIndex. Last modified June 9, 2026. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/memphis.
"Memphis car wash market analysis." WashIndex, Jun. 9, 2026, https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/memphis.
@misc{washindex_car_wash_markets_memphis_2026,
title = {{Memphis car wash market analysis}},
author = {{WashIndex}},
year = {2026},
month = {Jun},
url = {https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/memphis},
urldate = {2026-06-09},
} About this analysis
Car wash inventory for the Memphis, TN-MS-AR CBSA is determined by point-in-polygon test against the official US Census county boundaries (TIGER/Line, 2024) for the 9 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 19,898 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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