Top 100 U.S. metros for new tunnel car washes

Metro areas ranked by whitespace index at one tunnel per 20,000 people, out of 925 U.S. metro and micro areas. Updated October 29, 2026.

Open the map Southeast rankings

Whitespace index (estimate): the weighted population in a metro's tracts that are short of tunnel car washes, divided by 20,000. Dense urban tracts are weighted down and income nudges demand. It ranks markets to study; it is not a count of buildable sites. Tunnels (operating only; tunnels in development are their own column and count as open in the index) and population are actual counts (tunnels verified October 2026, population Esri 2024 estimates). Rankings at 25,000 and 15,000 people per tunnel are in the map's market table.

U.S. rank	Metro	Whitespace index (est.)	Population 2024	Tunnels	In development	People per tunnel
1	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	300.4	19,850,485	279	13	71,149
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	282.2	12,940,761	297	11	43,572
3	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	168.7	6,248,398	166	29	37,641
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	158.8	6,429,395	148	10	43,442
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	140.2	4,172,852	70	2	59,612
6	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	135.9	4,742,455	55	2	86,226
7	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	112.9	9,280,082	366	13	25,355
8	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	108.1	7,619,359	348	11	21,895
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	100.4	6,399,274	264	2	24,240
10	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	98.5	3,297,610	81	2	40,711
11	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	96.4	8,195,415	421	9	19,467
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	85.4	4,978,502	130	1	38,296
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	82.1	3,790,663	86	3	44,077
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	81.1	2,593,190	48	2	54,025
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	72.7	6,307,532	204	25	30,919
16	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	71.0	4,719,812	200	6	23,599
17	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	68.0	5,149,752	234	1	22,007
18	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	61.7	2,466,648	76	1	32,456
19	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	58.5	1,994,508	23	2	86,718
20	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	58.3	3,081,342	112	4	27,512
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	56.1	2,867,112	86	7	33,339
22	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	44.1	4,364,290	214	18	20,394
23	Urban Honolulu, HI	39.1	1,014,704	2	0	507,352
24	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	37.9	3,353,755	166	6	20,203
25	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	37.1	2,284,819	78	1	29,293
26	Cleveland, OH	37.0	2,165,812	82	1	26,412
27	St. Louis, MO-IL	35.9	2,824,501	115	0	24,561
28	Pittsburgh, PA	34.3	2,447,995	71	0	34,479
29	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	33.6	2,550,817	110	4	23,189
30	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	33.2	2,173,541	74	0	29,372
31	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	31.8	2,851,936	123	3	23,186
32	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	31.7	2,884,681	121	9	23,840
33	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	27.7	2,387,864	112	6	21,320
34	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	26.8	1,571,006	50	3	31,420
35	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	26.0	1,166,952	28	0	41,677
36	Raleigh-Cary, NC	25.7	1,552,570	55	2	28,229
37	Columbus, OH	23.4	2,209,888	97	0	22,782
38	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	23.4	1,685,677	56	2	30,101
39	Fresno, CA	22.7	1,191,199	30	0	39,707
40	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	21.6	835,273	19	1	43,962
41	Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	21.0	1,802,655	83	2	21,719
42	Kansas City, MO-KS	20.9	2,246,258	112	2	20,056
43	Jacksonville, FL	18.1	1,737,832	81	2	21,455
44	Stockton-Lodi, CA	17.1	808,566	24	1	33,690
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	16.9	2,189,414	103	2	21,256
46	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	15.6	879,176	19	1	46,272
47	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	15.6	954,750	39	0	24,481
48	Vallejo, CA	15.5	457,532	9	1	50,837
49	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	15.0	1,312,144	65	1	20,187
50	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	14.3	2,733,998	169	7	16,178
51	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	13.6	988,645	38	1	26,017
52	Richmond, VA	12.1	1,365,279	72	3	18,962
53	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	12.0	1,385,677	74	0	18,725
54	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	11.9	446,682	8	1	55,835
55	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	11.5	905,684	30	0	30,189
56	Salinas, CA	11.5	437,154	5	0	87,431
57	Madison, WI	11.3	706,315	13	4	54,332
58	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	11.2	384,446	9	1	42,716
59	Omaha, NE-IA	11.0	998,882	44	4	22,702
60	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	10.9	1,344,037	61	1	22,033
61	New Haven, CT	10.0	574,778	21	0	27,370
62	Anchorage, AK	9.6	401,604	2	1	200,802
63	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	9.2	486,997	10	0	48,700
64	Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL	9.2	718,006	29	0	24,759
65	Rochester, NY	9.1	1,054,080	44	1	23,956
66	Salem, OR	8.7	447,179	9	0	49,687
67	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	8.6	1,174,989	52	3	22,596
68	Eugene-Springfield, OR	8.4	389,590	9	0	43,288
69	Port St. Lucie, FL	8.3	532,807	25	0	21,312
70	Ann Arbor, MI	8.2	369,917	10	0	36,992
71	Boise City, ID	8.2	852,423	30	2	28,414
72	Boulder, CO	8.0	334,690	7	0	47,813
73	Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH	7.9	816,932	37	0	22,079
74	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	7.6	620,668	19	0	32,667
75	Akron, OH	7.4	697,418	28	0	24,908
76	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	7.4	265,241	3	0	88,414
77	Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL	7.4	812,640	25	0	32,506
78	Syracuse, NY	7.2	652,264	17	1	38,368
79	Manchester-Nashua, NH	7.0	430,661	15	0	28,711
80	Tucson, AZ	7.0	1,070,655	58	1	18,460
81	Lancaster, PA	6.9	562,129	13	0	43,241
82	Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	6.7	707,674	20	1	35,384
83	Erie, PA	6.6	266,234	3	0	88,745
84	Reno, NV	6.5	581,543	24	0	24,231
85	Wichita, KS	6.4	655,685	26	0	25,219
86	McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX	6.1	910,138	57	1	15,967
87	El Paso, TX	5.9	884,483	48	1	18,427
88	Worcester, MA	5.7	873,923	37	0	23,620
89	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL	5.7	914,199	47	1	19,451
90	Albuquerque, NM	5.6	926,835	48	0	19,309
91	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	5.5	308,555	6	0	51,426
92	Tulsa, OK	5.3	1,049,778	61	2	17,209
93	Fort Collins-Loveland, CO	5.3	378,187	15	1	25,212
94	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL	5.2	840,698	46	7	18,276
95	Oklahoma City, OK	5.2	1,486,341	85	4	17,486
96	Reading, PA	4.9	432,799	12	0	36,067
97	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	4.7	642,218	38	2	16,900
98	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	4.5	749,524	45	1	16,656
99	Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	4.5	610,119	19	0	32,112
100	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	4.4	1,156,623	50	0	23,132

How to read this table

Very dense areas are weighted down, starting at 4,000 people per square mile and reaching zero at 12,000, because land cost and stacking room limit tunnel washes there. Household income moves demand up or down slightly (0.85 to 1.10). Tunnels in development are counted as if open. Because of these adjustments a tract's gap is not simply its population divided by 20,000.

Nationally there are about 28,400 people per operating tunnel car wash (this build). In mature Sunbelt states the typical figure is closer to 15,000 (state medians from about 10,500 in South Carolina to 19,900 in Florida, October 2026 analysis). Rankings use 20,000; every tract on the map also shows 25,000 and 15,000.

The whitespace index for a metro is the weighted population in its flagged tracts divided by 20,000. It is an estimate, not a count of buildable sites.

The map does not show parcel availability, zoning, traffic counts, the quality of existing competitors or site economics. Use it to choose which markets to study, then underwrite the site.