The U.S. automotive aftermarket spans parts stores, tire dealers, wholesalers, repair shops, technicians, and the vehicles that generate service demand. Industry estimates put the light-vehicle aftermarket at $435 billion in 2025, while federal data show 298 million registered motor vehicles and about 3.3 trillion vehicle-miles traveled in 2024. Together, these figures describe a large, active market with a substantial professional workforce and a changing new-vehicle mix.
Contents
- Market size and channel outlook
- Parts retail scale
- Wholesale parts and vehicle distribution
- Vehicle parc, driving, and maintenance demand
- Aftermarket workforce and pay
- Garage, tire, and specialty repair occupations
- New-vehicle mix and efficiency pressures
Market size and channel outlook
The Auto Care Association projected the U.S. light-vehicle aftermarket to reach $435 billion in 2025. The same outlook forecast the market to exceed $500 billion by 2028. These are industry-model estimates and forecasts, rather than a single federal census of every aftermarket transaction. Auto Care Association: U.S. Light Vehicle Automotive Aftermarket Projected to Reach $435 Billion in 2025
The association also reported that the service channel retained a 0.6-percentage-point share gain over the dealer channel in 2024. Over the longer 2017–2024 period, the dealer channel had lost 1.4 percentage points of share. Those measures describe channel share movement, not a claim that every independent repair business grew by the same amount. Auto Care Association: U.S. Light Vehicle Automotive Aftermarket Projected to Reach $435 Billion in 2025
Another Auto Care Association report placed the automotive aftermarket at $477.6 billion in 2022, including $360.4 billion for automobile repair. It reported 9.7% automotive-aftermarket growth in 2022, while the 2024 Factbook forecast 8.1% industry growth for 2023 and projected the auto care industry to reach $574 billion in 2026. These figures come from different reporting periods and outlooks, so they should be read as separately labeled estimates or forecasts rather than combined into one time series. Auto Care Association: New Research
Parts retail scale
The Census Bureau’s 2024 figures for U.S. private, nonfarm employer firms operating during at least part of the year show the scale of the retail side. Automotive parts, accessories, and tire stores reported $132,251,416 thousand in sales, or $132.251416 billion, with $21,575,039 thousand in annual payroll and 563,397 employees. U.S. Census Bureau: Retail Trade Summary Statistics, 2024
The category contains distinct businesses with different operating patterns:
| 2024 retail category | Sales | Annual payroll | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive parts and accessories stores | $85,239,415 thousand | — | 387,387 |
| Tire dealers | $47,012,001 thousand | $8,818,502 thousand | — |
| Parts, accessories, and tire stores | $132,251,416 thousand | $21,575,039 thousand | 563,397 |
The parts-and-accessories category alone reported $85,239,415 thousand in sales and employed 387,387 people in 2024. Tire dealers reported $47,012,001 thousand in sales and $8,818,502 thousand in annual payroll. The Census table’s category definitions matter: these are establishment and industry-group statistics, not a calculated total for all repair activity or all automotive commerce. U.S. Census Bureau: Retail Trade Summary Statistics, 2024
For context, the broader NAICS 441 motor vehicle and parts dealers group reported $1,580,065,533 thousand in 2024 sales. That broader number includes more than the parts-store and tire-dealer categories above, so it should not be added to them as if the categories were independent. U.S. Census Bureau: Retail Trade Summary Statistics, 2024
Wholesale parts and vehicle distribution
Wholesale distribution adds another large layer between manufacturers, retailers, repair businesses, and other commercial buyers. Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies merchant wholesalers reported $1,157,921,167 thousand in 2024 sales, $31,399,401 thousand in annual payroll, and 435,006 employees. U.S. Census Bureau: Wholesale Trade Summary Statistics, 2024
The wholesale results break into several useful groups:
- Automobile and other motor vehicle merchant wholesalers reported $847,034,524 thousand in sales and $12,416,825 thousand in annual payroll in 2024.
- Motor vehicle supplies and new parts merchant wholesalers reported $227,713,591 thousand in sales and $14,643,040 thousand in annual payroll.
- Manufacturers’ sales branches and offices within motor vehicle supplies and new parts wholesaling reported $69,760,230 thousand in sales.
All three figures refer to 2024 wholesale categories in the Census Bureau’s American Industry and Business Patterns statistics. They show how much activity sits upstream from the local parts counter or garage, but they use Census industry definitions and should not be merged with the Auto Care Association’s modeled market totals. U.S. Census Bureau: Wholesale Trade Summary Statistics, 2024
Vehicle parc, driving, and maintenance demand
The Federal Highway Administration counted 298 million registered motor vehicles in the United States in 2024. The total increased by 13 million vehicles, or 5%, compared with 2023. FHWA notes that the registered-vehicle total includes vehicles registered at any time during the year and can include vehicles registered in more than one state. FHWA: Vehicles, Our Nation’s Highways 2026
Use intensity was also substantial. U.S. vehicle-miles traveled totaled about 3.3 trillion miles in 2024. The country had 240 million licensed drivers, vehicles consumed 172 billion gallons of fuel, and average vehicle-miles traveled reached 13,735 miles per licensed driver. On a registered-vehicle basis, the average was 11,071 miles per vehicle. These are national averages, not service intervals or mileage guarantees for an individual car. FHWA: Vehicles, Our Nation’s Highways 2026
For garage owners and enthusiasts, the connection is practical: a large registered fleet and high aggregate mileage create a broad base of vehicles requiring inspection, maintenance, tires, replacement parts, and repairs. The FHWA figures quantify the fleet and its use; they do not independently measure how often any specific component is replaced.
Aftermarket workforce and pay
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 825,800 automotive service technicians and mechanics employed in 2025. BLS projected 866,700 jobs in 2035, a numeric increase of 40,900 jobs and 5% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. It also projected about 66,200 openings per year over that period. The employment projections are forecasts, not observed future counts. BLS: Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
National wage figures for May 2025 show a wide range across the occupation:
- The median annual wage was $50,620.
- The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $34,660 annually.
- The highest-paid 10% earned more than $81,790 annually.
- Median annual pay was $59,920 for technicians in automobile dealerships.
- Median annual pay was $49,630 in automotive mechanical and electrical repair.
The BLS wage measures are national estimates for May 2025. They are not a pricing guide for a particular race shop, independent garage, dealership, or region. BLS: Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
Garage, tire, and specialty repair occupations
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics table provides a wider snapshot of automotive repair work in May 2025. Automotive technicians and repairers numbered 874,260 workers, while automotive body and related repairers numbered 149,310. Automotive glass installers and repairers numbered 20,310.
Specialty roles were also sizable. Tire repairers and changers numbered 108,410 workers, and motorcycle mechanics numbered 13,510 workers. The table reported a $56,420 mean annual wage for automotive service technicians and mechanics. These occupation counts use BLS definitions, so they are not identical to the separate Occupational Outlook Handbook employment count for automotive service technicians and mechanics. BLS: National Employment and Wage Data, May 2025
New-vehicle mix and efficiency pressures
The EPA’s 2025 Automotive Trends Report describes U.S. new-vehicle production for model year 2024, not the entire in-use fleet. Under NHTSA regulatory definitions, cars represented 34% of production and trucks represented 66%. Truck SUVs alone accounted for half of all new-vehicle production in model year 2024. EPA: The 2025 Automotive Trends Report
The same report recorded an average real-world fuel economy of 27.2 mpg for a new model year 2024 vehicle, a record in the report’s series. When battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were excluded, average new-vehicle real-world fuel economy was 1.7 mpg lower. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 7% of all new vehicles in model year 2024, down from 10% in model year 2023.
The average model year 2024 new vehicle weighed 4,354 pounds and produced 258 horsepower. These figures point to a market mixing larger truck-based vehicles with efficiency and electrification changes. They do not describe the average age, weight, horsepower, or powertrain of the 298 million vehicles already registered in the United States. EPA: The 2025 Automotive Trends Report
For the aftermarket, the distinction between new production and the in-use fleet is central. The fleet on the road today remains the immediate source of service demand, while new-vehicle production indicates the kinds of platforms, systems, and technologies that may shape future parts and repair work.