WashIndex launches car wash membership price index

WashIndex introduced a benchmark for unlimited car wash membership list prices in the United States, using 3,123 archived price points across 195 chains. The data shows membership prices are up 16% since 2020, with express tunnels rising faster and regional pricing diverging sharply.

Why it matters: - WashIndex now gives car wash investors, lenders and operators a benchmark for membership list prices that did not exist before. - The index is meant to show how much pricing power has changed across the industry since 2015. - The findings matter because membership pricing is a major revenue lever for wash chains.

What happened: - WashIndex announced the WashIndex Membership Price Index on August 12, 2026. - The benchmark tracks what unlimited car wash memberships have cost in the United States since 2015. - The index is built from 3,123 archived price points across 195 chains. - Those chains came from a tracked universe of 373 operators, including defunct and acquired businesses. - WashIndex is based in Dallas and operates as a geospatial market intelligence platform for the car wash industry.

The details: - Membership list prices are up 16% since 2020 across all wash formats. - The national index rose from a 2020 base of 100.0 to 116.1 in 2026. - Membership prices are up about 31% since 2015. - Express-tunnel memberships climbed 23% since 2020. - The average unlimited membership now lists at $34.00 per month. - Base tiers average $24.16 per month in 2026. - Premium tiers average $43.29 per month in 2026. - Regional pricing has diverged sharply since 2020. - List prices rose 29% in the Midwest and 21% in the Northeast. - List prices rose 9% in the South and fell 1% in the West. - The gap between the fastest- and slowest-moving regions is roughly 30 percentage points. - The index uses a same-store methodology so year-over-year changes compare only chains priced in both years. - WashIndex uses location-weighted geometric means with statistical trimming. - The index measures advertised list prices, not realized revenue after promotions. - WashIndex says the published methodology and limitations make the index an upper bound on realized price growth. - The full index and historical data are available in WashIndex's research report.

Between the lines: - The regional split suggests pricing power has not moved evenly across the country. - Justin Kuo, WashIndex founder, said the Midwest-versus-West gap is a repricing roadmap for acquirers and a sign of how much headroom remains in markets that have already moved. - The index also lines up closely with public-company data. - From 2021 to 2025, the express index rose about 11%. - That closely matched the roughly 10% increase in Unlimited Wash Club revenue per member that Mister Car Wash reported in SEC filings over the same period. - Because the benchmark relies on advertised prices, actual revenue growth could be lower when promotions are included.

What's next: - Investors and operators can use the index as a reference point for underwriting, benchmarking and pricing strategy. - WashIndex said the methodology, regional breakdowns and historical data are available with the release. - The company will likely use the benchmark to extend its pricing intelligence work across the car wash market.

The bottom line: - Car wash membership prices have climbed steadily for years, but the biggest story is how uneven that growth has become across U.S. regions.