Automotive service spans vehicle ownership, miles driven, household costs, repair employment, parts distribution and price changes. The available measures below are primarily U.S. statistics from 2023–2024, with historical travel context reaching back to 1998; company figures describe individual issuers rather than the entire market.
Key Automotive Service Statistics
The following highlights summarize the most useful measures across the automotive service ecosystem:
- 298 million registered vehicles in 2024 were recorded in the United States.
- 11,071 miles per registered vehicle in 2024 was the U.S. average derived from national travel and registration data.
- 3,246,817 million vehicle-miles in 2023 were reported in the FHWA national highway table for the United States.
- 197,134,299 passenger cars in 2023 were registered in the United States.
- 62,103,995 light trucks in 2023 were registered in the United States.
- $3,845 in other vehicle expenses per consumer unit in 2023 was reported by the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey.
- 17.0% of average consumer-unit expenditures in 2023 went to the broad transportation category in the United States.
- 240,230 automotive service technicians and mechanics in May 2024 worked in the U.S. automotive repair and maintenance industry.
- 27,540 automotive service technicians and mechanics in May 2024 were employed in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area.
- $16.71 billion in 2024 sales was reported by O’Reilly Automotive on a consolidated basis.
- 6,432 U.S. AutoZone stores at August 31, 2024 formed the company’s domestic store footprint.
- $13.718 billion in 2024 parts-and-services revenue was reported by LKQ Corporation on a consolidated basis.
- 9.9% growth in 2024 was reported for LKQ Wholesale-North America’s parts-and-services revenue.
- More than 11,000 miles per registered vehicle in every year from 2021 through 2024 appeared in the FHWA historical series for the United States.
- 7.1% growth from December 2022 to December 2023 occurred in the U.S. motor-vehicle-maintenance-and-repair CPI.
- 20.3% growth from December 2022 to December 2023 occurred in the U.S. motor-vehicle-insurance CPI, a related vehicle cost rather than a repair measure.
Contents
- Vehicle population and driving demand
- Repair and maintenance spending
- Service technician employment
- Aftermarket retail scale and trends
- Aftermarket and recycled-parts revenue
- Vehicle travel trends
- Service cost and price trends
Vehicle Population and Driving Demand Statistics
FHWA data provides the base population that can generate automotive service demand. The historical series counted 298 million registered vehicles in 2024, compared with 285 million in 2023; FHWA notes that the annual measure covers vehicles registered at any time during the year. Vehicles | Our Nation’s Highways 2026
The FHWA national table gives more precise 2023–2024 context, while also warning that table totals differ slightly from the rounded historical series because of table scope and presentation:
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Registered vehicles | 284,614,269 | 297,525,836 |
| Average miles per registered vehicle | 11,408 | 11,071 |
The table also recorded 3,246,817 million vehicle-miles in 2023, a state-reported highway travel estimate rather than a count of service visits. Passenger cars represented 197,134,299 registrations, while light trucks represented 62,103,995. Table VM-1 – Highway Statistics 2024
Automotive Repair and Maintenance Spending Data
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey figures describe average spending per U.S. consumer unit, not repair-only spending by vehicle owners. Average annual expenditures for all consumer units were $77,280 in 2023, up 5.9% from 2022, while average income before taxes rose 8.3% over the same period. Consumer expenditures in 2023
Transportation accounted for 17.0% of average consumer-unit expenditures in 2023. Its components show why broad transportation totals should not be treated as automotive service revenue:
| Consumer expenditure measure | 2023 average per consumer unit |
|---|---|
| Transportation | $13,174 |
| Vehicle purchases, net outlay | $5,539 |
| Gasoline and other fuels | $2,694 |
| Other vehicle expenses | $3,845 |
The BLS “other vehicle expenses” category includes vehicle maintenance, repairs, insurance and other vehicle expenses, so the $3,845 figure is not a pure repair estimate. Vehicle purchases and fuel likewise describe adjacent transportation costs, not completed service work.
Automotive Service Technician Employment Statistics
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2024 show the labor structure inside the U.S. automotive repair and maintenance industry. The largest listed occupations included technicians, cleaners, body repairers and management roles, so the counts should not be interpreted as technician shortages or annual hiring.
| Occupation in automotive repair and maintenance | May 2024 jobs | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 240,230 | Industry employment estimate |
| Vehicle and equipment cleaners | 151,600 | Occupation estimate |
| Automotive body and related repairers | 111,260 | Industry employment estimate |
| General and operations managers | 59,310 | Industry occupation |
| First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers | 42,990 | Occupation estimate |
| Automotive and watercraft service attendants | 39,530 | Includes watercraft attendants |
Largest Occupations in Automotive Repair and Maintenance, May 2024
Employment was also concentrated in large metropolitan areas. In May 2024, New York-Newark-Jersey City had 27,540 automotive service technicians and mechanics, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim had 19,620, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had 18,180, and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had 17,020.
These are metropolitan-area employment estimates, not national rankings of service quality or demand. OEWS data tables for occupation-area employment, May 2024
Automotive Aftermarket Retail Scale and Trends
Issuer filings illustrate the scale of large aftermarket retailers without representing the total U.S. automotive service market. O’Reilly Automotive reported $16.71 billion in 2024 sales, up 6% from $15.81 billion in 2023, and comparable-store sales rose 2.9% in 2024.
Its 2024 gross profit was $8.55 billion, up 6%, with a 51.2% gross margin versus 51.3% in 2023. Selling, general and administrative expenses were 31.7% of sales, operating income was 19.5%, and net income was 14.3%; these are company financial ratios spanning DIY and professional customers. O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K
AutoZone reported 6,432 U.S. stores, 794 Mexico stores and 127 Brazil stores at August 31, 2024, for a total footprint of 7,353 stores across the three countries. Commercial sales programs operated in 5,898 domestic stores, serving repair garages, dealers, service stations, fleets and other accounts. AutoZone, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K
Aftermarket and Recycled-Parts Revenue Statistics
LKQ’s parts-and-services category covers multiple aftermarket and recycling activities, so it should not be read as a standalone measure of repair-shop revenue. Consolidated parts-and-services revenue was $13.718 billion in 2024, compared with $13.174 billion in 2023; the company reported a $544 million, or 4.1%, increase.
The North American wholesale segment grew faster than the consolidated category:
| LKQ measure | 2023 | 2024 | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated parts and services | $13.174 billion | $13.718 billion | $544 million, 4.1% |
| Wholesale-North America parts and services | $4.974 billion | $5.465 billion | $491 million, 9.9% |
LKQ reported that Wholesale-North America serves professional repair businesses through aftermarket and salvage operations. It also reported 1.3% growth for LKQ Europe, an 8.4% decline for LKQ Self Service and a 0.7% decline for LKQ Specialty in 2024.
The company’s decomposition reported 6.3% revenue growth from the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures, alongside a 2.2% organic decline in parts-and-services revenue. Those issuer-specific definitions mean the figures are not direct measures of organic market growth. LKQ Corporation 2024 Form 10-K
Vehicle Travel Trends Relevant to Service Demand
FHWA travel data offers context for exposure to use, but it does not measure repair frequency, service visits or component failure. Average miles per registered vehicle fell from 12,211 in 1998 to 10,523 in 2020, then exceeded 11,000 in every year from 2021 through 2024.
The vehicle-category table shows different travel intensity for passenger cars and light trucks:
| Vehicle category | 2023 average miles per vehicle | 2024 average miles per vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars | 10,787 | 11,026 |
| Light trucks | 11,593 | 11,360 |
These averages are national category measures, not household or individual-driver averages. They can describe the amount of vehicle use in the fleet, but no repair-demand inference should be made without service data. Vehicles | Our Nation’s Highways 2026 and Table VM-1 – Highway Statistics 2024
Automotive Service Cost and Price Trends
The BLS Consumer Price Index tracks price movement rather than repair volume, invoice distributions or profitability. For the U.S. city average CPI-U, the motor-vehicle-maintenance-and-repair index increased 7.1% from December 2022 to December 2023, compared with a 3.4% increase for all items.
Monthly seasonally adjusted movements during the final quarter of 2023 were mixed: the index rose 0.2% from September to October, rose 0.3% from October to November, and fell 0.3% from November to December. Its relative importance in the CPI-U was 1.145% in November 2023, which is a basket weight rather than a household spending share.
Motor-vehicle insurance, a related cost rather than a repair service, rose 20.3% from December 2022 to December 2023. The comparison reinforces why automotive cost statistics should identify the exact service or price category being measured. Consumer Price Index News Release – December 2023