Auto sales have hockey-sticked in the last year. Pent-up demand from the COVID-19 pandemic is a part of this. The normal replacement cycle for cars is another. New cars have become harder to find because of a shortage of semiconductors that run their electronic systems. People have turned to used cars, which have risen sharply in cost because they lack alternatives. Among the things that often come with used cars is a need to get them fixed.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed Junk Car Traders data for auto body shops in hundreds of cities across the country to determine which one had the most such businesses. Additional commuting data for the cities listed came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2019, the most recent to be published.

In all the cities on the finalist list, a high percentage of the population drives to work, and thus probably has a greater need for body shops than in cities where commuting is more likely to be by public transportation. It is hardly surprising that the state with the most cars — California, by a long shot (with almost 15 million registered vehicles in 2019, compared with 8.3 million for second-place Texas) — held nine places on the list, while the western United States in general accounts for 18 of the 25 finalist cities ranked.

The good news for body shop proprietors is that, with the pandemic slowing and many people returning to work and venturing out for travel, meals or entertainment, more cars will be crowding the roads, meaning that their businesses probably will be in greater demand.

The city with the most places to get a car fixed is Bakersfield, California. Here are the details:

• Auto body shops: 878.8 per 100,000 residents
• Average area commute time: 24.2 minutes
• Portion of area workers who drive: 93.7%

Click here to see which cities have the most places to get a car fixed.

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