Syracuse Car Wash Market Analysis
Syracuse, NY
Data updated · September 26, 2026
A read of Syracuse's car wash market built from 17,026 Google reviews across 261 locations. Format mix, operator rank, county breakdown, rating vs. income, aspect-level customer signals.
Snapshot
- Locations
- 261
- 89% independent
- Chains
- 15
- lead: Splash Car Wash Express (5 sites)
- Avg rating
- 4.33★
- -0.09 vs national MSA median
- Damage rate
- 2.2%
- 1.4× national MSA norm
- Cancel friction
- 16.0%
- Top format
- detail shop
- 52% of classified inventory
- Median single wash
- $11
- range $9–$50
- Median unlimited
- $20.99/mo
- cheapest $10/mo at Mr. Suds Car Wash
Market Quality snapshot
- Population
- 657,128
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Households
- 267,658
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Residents per wash
- 2,518
- 1.3× the national MSA median — lighter supply
- Express tunnels per 10K households
- 0.2
- below the ~0.5 expandable band · classified sites
Key findings
- 261 car wash locations operated by 15 chains and 233 independents across 3 counties.
- Weighted Google rating 4.33★ across the market; structural concentration and format mix sit near US-metro norms.
- Built from 17,026 Google reviews, 5,163 of them AI-extracted across 55 dimensions.
261 car wash locations across 3 counties · dots colored by format · sized by review volume
No single structural signal jumps out for Syracuse — it's a mid-shape car wash market. 261 locations across 15 chains and 233 independents, distributed across 3 counties. Distinctive patterns show up below at the format and aspect levels.
Average rating across the 261-location market weighs in at 4.33★; damage rate 2.2%; cancel friction 16.0%. Staff is the brightest aspect signal (0.76/+1). 17,026 Google reviews drive the analysis, 5,163 of them processed through the WashIndex LLM extractor.
Published pricing across the 18 of 263 Syracuse locations with menus available: median single car wash $11 (range $9–$50), median unlimited membership $20.99/month (range $10–$25/mo). The cheapest unlimited membership in the metro is $10/mo at Mr. Suds Car Wash (Basic).
See the top car wash chains in Syracuse
Ranked by location count in the metro
What does a car wash cost in the Syracuse metro?
Published menu pricing for car washes in the Syracuse metropolitan area, captured from operator websites and the WashIndex AI calling agent. 18 of 263 tracked locations have usable published pricing (7% coverage).
| Cheapest unlimited memberships in Syracuse | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr. Suds Car Wash Basic | $10 per mo |
| 2 | Grieb Carwash Dry | $14 per mo |
| 3 | GO Car Wash Tier 4 | $15 per mo |
| 4 | GO Car Wash Tier 4 | $15 per mo |
| 5 | GO Car Wash Tier 4 | $15 per mo |
| Cheapest single car washes in Syracuse | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Seasons Car Wash Express Exterior | $9 |
| 2 | Mr. Suds Car Wash Basic | $9 |
| 3 | Splash Car Wash Express Express | $10 |
| 4 | GO Car Wash Tier 4 | $10 |
| 5 | GO Car Wash Tier 4 | $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.
The car wash industry in the Syracuse metro, officially
Fast-growingthe Syracuse metro is one of the faster-growing car-wash job markets: employer establishments grew 17% from 2022 to 2024 — ahead of the ~7% national pace — to 27, now employing about 480 people at a $30,572 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.
Car wash financing in the Syracuse metro
Consolidating marketSince 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration has backed 8 car-wash loans in the Syracuse metro worth $3.2M, at a $251,700 median per car wash. Early read: acquisitions are unusually prominent — 13% of loans went to buying existing washes (vs. 8% nationally), a sign operators are trading sites more than building new ones.
- Onondaga 8
- New build / open25% · $170K
- Acquisition13% · $1.3M
- Expansion / improvement38% · $305K
- Working capital13% · $20K
- Unclassified13% · $754K
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 the Syracuse car wash market
How many car washes are in the Syracuse metro?
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What is the best-rated car wash in the Syracuse metro?
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Which car wash chain has the most locations in Syracuse?
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What is the average customer rating in the Syracuse car wash market?
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What is the typical household income near car washes in Syracuse?
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How much does a car wash cost in Syracuse?
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How much does an unlimited car wash membership cost in Syracuse?
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What is the cheapest car wash in Syracuse?
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What kinds of car washes does Syracuse have?
The format mix in Syracuse 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 4.65★ across 23 locations. Lowest-rated: Self-Serve Bay at 3.55★ (3 locations).
217 (83.1%) of 261 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 | 217 | 83.1% | 9,373 | 4.24 | 1.71% | 14.8% |
| Detail Shop | 23 | 8.8% | 3,178 | 4.65 | 0.82% | 0.0% |
| In-Bay Automatic | 7 | 2.7% | 1,077 | 3.93 | 2.08% | 0.0% |
| Express Tunnel | 6 | 2.3% | 1,259 | 4.14 | 6.29% | 23.1% |
| Full Service | 5 | 1.9% | 2,026 | 4.59 | 3.06% | 11.8% |
| Self-Serve Bay | 3 | 1.1% | 113 | 3.55 | 0.00% | 0.0% |
What is the household income near Syracuse car washes?
Each ZIP in Syracuse 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 116 qualifying locations: 0.11 — mild positive. Higher-income ZIPs host slightly better-rated washes, but operator execution still dominates. Scatter mean: $75K AGI/return, 4.18★.
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 | 37 | 2,646 | 4.23 | Detail Shop (3) |
| $50K – $75K | 20 | 78 | 7,478 | 4.32 | Detail Shop (9) |
| $75K – $100K | 15 | 53 | 5,767 | 4.34 | Detail Shop (10) |
| $100K – $150K | 2 | 4 | 262 | 4.75 | Full Service (1) |
| $150K+ | 3 | 5 | 329 | 3.84 | In-Bay Automatic (2) |
Income band spread: 5/3.84★ at the highest tier; 37/4.23★ 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 Syracuse car washes?
15 chains run sites in Syracuse; 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 | Splash Car Wash Express | 5 | 2,026 | 4.59 | 3.06% | 11.8% | 1.20% |
| 2 | Precision Wash | 4 | 263 | 3.43 | — | — | — |
| 3 | GO Car Wash | 3 | 478 | 4.11 | 5.17% | 18.8% | 2.58% |
| 4 | Delta Sonic Car Wash | 3 | 1,939 | 4.16 | 4.01% | 13.7% | 0.91% |
| 5 | Lake Effect Car Wash | 2 | 50 | 2.36 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Niagara Car Wash | 2 | 257 | 3.96 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Mobil | 1 | 56 | 3.90 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Exxpress Mart | 1 | 35 | 4.00 | — | — | — |
| 9 | Maple Leaf Market | 1 | 55 | 3.40 | — | — | — |
| 10 | OJ Tank Wash LLC | 1 | 137 | 4.30 | — | — | — |
| 11 | Circle K | 1 | 83 | 3.10 | — | — | — |
| 12 | Adams Car Wash | 1 | 41 | 3.80 | — | — | — |
| 13 | Carz Auto Spa | 1 | 119 | 5.00 | — | — | — |
| 14 | Valet Auto Wash Syracuse | 1 | 391 | 4.10 | — | — | — |
| 15 | Cliff's Local Market | 1 | 46 | 3.80 | — | — | — |
Which counties have the most car washes in Syracuse?
Syracuse's 261 car washes distribute across 3 counties. Onondaga County leads with 187 locations (71.6%). Cross-county rating dispersion is usually narrow at this scale.
Cross-county rating dispersion: 0.08★ between the highest- and lowest-rated counties with meaningful sample size.
| County | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onondaga County | 187 | 71.6% | 12,877 | 4.34 |
| Oswego County | 40 | 15.3% | 3,251 | 4.26 |
| Madison County | 34 | 13.0% | 898 | 4.31 |
What do customers love and complain about in Syracuse?
Seven aspects, 5,163 reviews, 261 locations. The grid below gives a quick read on which dimensions of the experience Syracuse's car wash market does well at and which generate friction.
Where are all the car washes in the Syracuse metro?
Top 25 car washes by review volume in Syracuse. The full set of 261 is available in the underlying dataset.
| Location | City | Format | Chain | Rating | Reviews | ZIP AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ziebart 980 Hiawatha Blvd W | Syracuse, NY | Detail Shop | — | 4.4 | 1,137 | $43K |
| Burritt Motors Chevrolet 340 NY 104 | Oswego, NY | — | — | 4.1 | 817 | $67K |
| Delta Sonic Car Wash 3720 Brewerton Rd | Syracuse, NY | — | Delta Sonic Car Wash | 4.1 | 724 | $62K |
| Delta Sonic Car Wash 3439 Erie Blvd E | Syracuse, NY | — | Delta Sonic Car Wash | 4.1 | 640 | $82K |
| Delta Sonic Car Wash 3328 Genesee St | Syracuse, NY | — | Delta Sonic Car Wash | 4.3 | 575 | $73K |
| Burritt Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram 330 NY 104 | Oswego, NY | — | — | 4.5 | 551 | $67K |
| Splash Car Wash Express 7795 Oswego Rd | Liverpool, NY | Full Service | Splash Car Wash Express | 4.5 | 523 | $78K |
| Splash Car Wash Express 293 NY 104 | Oswego, NY | Full Service | Splash Car Wash Express | 4.8 | 510 | $67K |
| Splash Car Wash Express 7940 US-11 | Cicero, NY | Full Service | Splash Car Wash Express | 4.4 | 502 | $91K |
| Ziebart 6189 S Bay Rd | Cicero, NY | Detail Shop | — | 4.4 | 425 | $91K |
| Burdick Used Car and Truck Warehouse 5885 Cir Dr E #355 | Cicero, NY | — | — | 4.3 | 392 | $91K |
| Valet Auto Wash Syracuse 2027 Park St | Syracuse, NY | Express Tunnel | Valet Auto Wash Syracuse | 4.1 | 391 | $39K |
| Upstate Imports Auto Repair Syracuse LLC 2221 Erie Blvd E | Syracuse, NY | Detail Shop | — | 4.8 | 378 | $85K |
| The Sudsy Bucket Car Wash 2425 Erie Blvd E | Syracuse, NY | Express Tunnel | — | 4.3 | 330 | $85K |
| Ken's Body Shop 5753 NY 104 | Oswego, NY | — | — | 4.8 | 284 | $67K |
| North Salina Car Wash 1600 N Salina St | Syracuse, NY | In-Bay Automatic | — | 4.0 | 278 | $39K |
| Splash Car Wash Express 3610 NY-31 | Baldwinsville, NY | Full Service | Splash Car Wash Express | 4.6 | 274 | $92K |
| Empire Car Wash Inc 6913 Manlius Center Rd | East Syracuse, NY | — | — | 4.4 | 244 | $70K |
| Grieb Carwash 912 Old Liverpool Rd | Liverpool, NY | In-Bay Automatic | — | 4.6 | 231 | $66K |
| Cantech Automotive Inc 6267 E Taft Rd | Syracuse, NY | — | — | 4.8 | 230 | $62K |
| Big Dog Tire and Trailer Washout 3546 Walters Rd | Syracuse, NY | — | — | 4.7 | 230 | $63K |
| Splash Car Wash Express 129 W Genesee St | Fayetteville, NY | Full Service | Splash Car Wash Express | 4.7 | 217 | $149K |
| GO Car Wash 5813 NY-31 | Cicero, NY | Express Tunnel | GO Car Wash | 3.9 | 213 | $91K |
| Walt's Automotive Service across from Dinosaur BBQ, 238 West Genesee Street Parking lot on, W Willow St | Syracuse, NY | — | — | 4.6 | 210 | $60K |
| GO Car Wash 7376 Oswego Rd | Liverpool, NY | Express Tunnel | GO Car Wash | 4.3 | 194 | $78K |
Compare Syracuse to other NY 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 2026-09-26. Pick a format and click Copy.
WashIndex. (2026, September 26). Syracuse car wash market analysis. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/syracuse
WashIndex. "Syracuse car wash market analysis." WashIndex. Last modified September 26, 2026. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/syracuse.
"Syracuse car wash market analysis." WashIndex, Sep. 26, 2026, https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/syracuse.
@misc{washindex_car_wash_markets_syracuse_2026,
title = {{Syracuse car wash market analysis}},
author = {{WashIndex}},
year = {2026},
month = {Sep},
url = {https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/syracuse},
urldate = {2026-09-26},
} About this analysis
Car wash inventory for the Syracuse, NY CBSA is determined by point-in-polygon test against the official US Census county boundaries (TIGER/Line, 2024) for the 3 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 5,163 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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