This Is Why Lafayette, Louisiana Has So Many Car Washes

According to the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, there are currently 70 permitted car washes in Lafayette Parish. That's a lot of car washes, which begs the question...why do we have so many car washes in Lafayette Parish?

Lafayette Car Washes

If you're from Lafayette or have lived here for a considerable amount of time, you remember a time when you had to kind of go out of your way to get to a car wash.

Back in the day, you had the OGs like Todd's Car Wash on Johnston, Ambassador Carwash and Lube Express, and Star Wash Touchless Car Wash on West Congress in Lafayette just to name a few.

Then in 2011, Classic Auto Spa opened on Johnston St. in Lafayette, which seemed to set in motion the future gold rush of car washes throughout the Hub City.

It's beginning to feel like Lafayette, La is becoming the "Car Wash Capitol of the World".

Believe it or not, Lafayette isn't, and we're not even the "Car Wash Capitol of Louisiana".

According to theadvertiser.com Hammond, La is the "Car Wash Capitol of Louisiana"

From theadvertiser.com -

"Hammond appears to be the car wash capital of Louisiana in terms of per capita figures, boasting 11 total establishments for its population of 101,500.

That's about 10.8 car washes per 100,000 people."

Lafayette does however have the 3rd most car washes in Louisiana per capita with "7.2 car washes per 100,000 residents, according to BLS and U.S. Census Bureau data" according to theadvertiser.com.

With the amount and rate that car washes are popping up in Lafayette, they have to be pretty profitable right?

They sure can be...

Car washes have seen a boom, not only in Lafayette but across the country for a few reasons according to carwash.com.

1. More cars per household now than ever.

2. Consumer demand for convenience.

3. Environmental demands.

"More communities have adopted regulations that prohibit residential carwashing practices. This helps expand the customer base for professional carwash businesses."

4. Profitability.

Car washes can offer significant returns on investments with attractive profit margins.

They're relatively simple to run and maintain depending on the business model and reportedly have fantastic resale value.

So, how much money are we talking about?

Projectionhub.com reports that "a self-serve car wash can generate roughly $1,000 to $1,500 per month in revenue per bay."

Let's say you open a car wash with 12 bays. Potentially, your car wash could bring in $18,000 in a good month.

What needs to be considered is how many car washes can a city reasonably sustain.

It definitely seems like Lafayette is testing that idea.

So, why does Lafayette have so many car washes?

Profitability, easy to run, pretty hands-off compared to other industries, and great resale value.

If you want to find out how to start your own car wash, check out projectionhub.com.