Ceramic coating and PPF specialist census
How many coating and film specialists each state has for its population, and what kind of shops they are: film installers, paint correction, mobile, and shops on a brand's own installer list.
The specialist census, October 2026
- CeramicCoating.com lists 6,731 ceramic coating and paint protection film specialists in the US as of October 2026, about 1.98 per 100,000 residents.
- Among states with at least 25 listed specialists, Florida has the most per resident (3.78 per 100,000) and Kentucky the fewest (0.83 per 100,000), as of October 2026.
- 69% of listed specialists install paint protection film and 32% work as mobile installers; Minnesota has the highest film share (84%) and New Mexico the highest mobile share (60%).
- 1,381 listed specialists appear on a coating or film maker's own installer list (XPEL, Ceramic Pro, Gtechniq), checked against those lists and dated.
How to cite:CeramicCoating.com, "Ceramic Coating and PPF Specialist Census," October 2026. Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 population estimates (NST-EST2024-ALLDATA), July 1, 2024. https://ceramiccoating.com/research/specialist-census/
Specialists by state
Sorted by specialists per 100,000 residents. Select a column heading to sort by it.
| Florida | 3.78 | 883 | 62% | 55% | 43% | 160 | 23,372,215 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 3.54 | 124 | 72% | 58% | 30% | 23 | 3,503,613 |
| Arizona | 3.27 | 248 | 67% | 48% | 37% | 42 | 7,582,384 |
| Colorado | 3.17 | 189 | 78% | 53% | 32% | 39 | 5,957,493 |
| Nevada | 2.91 | 95 | 73% | 59% | 29% | 20 | 3,267,467 |
| California | 2.76 | 1,088 | 76% | 54% | 33% | 238 | 39,431,263 |
| Washington | 2.35 | 187 | 73% | 59% | 33% | 41 | 7,958,180 |
| Idaho | 2.15 | 43 | 65% | 51% | 37% | 9 | 2,001,619 |
| New Hampshire | 2.13 | 30 | 73% | 70% | 33% | 4 | 1,409,032 |
| North Dakota | 2.13 | 17 | 71% | 59% | 6% | 5 | 796,568 |
| Oregon | 2.04 | 87 | 74% | 59% | 24% | 20 | 4,272,371 |
| South Carolina | 2.04 | 112 | 66% | 60% | 38% | 20 | 5,478,831 |
| Georgia | 1.99 | 222 | 67% | 51% | 27% | 38 | 11,180,878 |
| North Carolina | 1.95 | 215 | 70% | 63% | 35% | 54 | 11,046,024 |
| Delaware | 1.90 | 20 | 75% | 65% | 20% | 8 | 1,051,917 |
| Connecticut | 1.88 | 69 | 67% | 55% | 19% | 16 | 3,675,069 |
| Texas | 1.88 | 587 | 67% | 52% | 32% | 109 | 31,290,831 |
| Hawaii | 1.87 | 27 | 59% | 74% | 30% | 4 | 1,446,146 |
| Maryland | 1.85 | 116 | 70% | 66% | 35% | 22 | 6,263,220 |
| Virginia | 1.83 | 161 | 68% | 60% | 39% | 25 | 8,811,195 |
| Tennessee | 1.74 | 126 | 59% | 48% | 32% | 32 | 7,227,750 |
| Michigan | 1.73 | 175 | 69% | 64% | 27% | 38 | 10,140,459 |
| Wyoming | 1.70 | 10 | 70% | 40% | 0% | 1 | 587,618 |
| Ohio | 1.68 | 200 | 63% | 66% | 28% | 32 | 11,883,304 |
| Illinois | 1.64 | 209 | 77% | 63% | 27% | 60 | 12,710,158 |
| Rhode Island | 1.62 | 18 | 44% | 50% | 22% | 4 | 1,112,308 |
| Montana | 1.58 | 18 | 61% | 50% | 22% | 5 | 1,137,233 |
| New Jersey | 1.58 | 150 | 73% | 56% | 31% | 32 | 9,500,851 |
| Massachusetts | 1.51 | 108 | 69% | 63% | 28% | 22 | 7,136,171 |
| Indiana | 1.50 | 104 | 67% | 61% | 20% | 27 | 6,924,275 |
| Louisiana | 1.48 | 68 | 60% | 50% | 25% | 7 | 4,597,740 |
| Kansas | 1.41 | 42 | 57% | 60% | 36% | 11 | 2,970,606 |
| New Mexico | 1.41 | 30 | 73% | 57% | 60% | 9 | 2,130,256 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.39 | 182 | 59% | 66% | 25% | 31 | 13,078,751 |
| Alabama | 1.36 | 70 | 69% | 59% | 39% | 13 | 5,157,699 |
| Nebraska | 1.35 | 27 | 63% | 48% | 33% | 7 | 2,005,465 |
| Oklahoma | 1.34 | 55 | 62% | 62% | 33% | 12 | 4,095,393 |
| Wisconsin | 1.34 | 80 | 69% | 57% | 26% | 20 | 5,960,975 |
| Minnesota | 1.26 | 73 | 84% | 59% | 14% | 19 | 5,793,151 |
| Missouri | 1.25 | 78 | 69% | 63% | 38% | 13 | 6,245,466 |
| South Dakota | 1.19 | 11 | 55% | 27% | 27% | 3 | 924,669 |
| New York | 1.08 | 214 | 72% | 59% | 23% | 50 | 19,867,248 |
| Mississippi | 1.05 | 31 | 55% | 39% | 13% | 8 | 2,943,045 |
| Maine | 1.00 | 14 | 79% | 57% | 0% | 3 | 1,405,012 |
| Arkansas | 0.97 | 30 | 63% | 63% | 37% | 8 | 3,088,354 |
| West Virginia | 0.85 | 15 | 60% | 80% | 20% | 1 | 1,769,979 |
| Iowa | 0.83 | 27 | 56% | 52% | 26% | 8 | 3,241,488 |
| Kentucky | 0.83 | 38 | 68% | 45% | 29% | 6 | 4,588,372 |
| Vermont | 0.77 | 5 | 60% | 40% | 0% | 1 | 648,493 |
| Alaska | 0.27 | 2 | 0% | 50% | 0% | 1 | 740,133 |
| District of Columbia | 0.14 | 1 | 100% | 100% | 0% | 0 | 702,250 |
| United States | 1.98 | 6,731 | 69% | 57% | 32% | 1,381 | 340,110,988 |
How we count, and what it doesn't tell you
- Specialists are the shops in our directory: businesses found on Google Maps in every state and kept when their own website leads with ceramic coating or film, or a coating or film maker lists them as an installer. Detailers who offer a coating as one line on a long menu aren't counted.
- Services and mobile work are what each shop's own website says. "On a brand's list" means we found the shop on XPEL's installer locator, Ceramic Pro's dealer directory, Gtechniq's accredited detailer list, matched by phone, website or name.
- Population is the U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 population estimates (NST-EST2024-ALLDATA), July 1, 2024. Per 100,000 is specialists divided by residents.
- Shop data was last checked against Google Maps in October 2026.
This counts our directory, not every business licensed to do the work, and a state where shops rarely have websites will look thinner than it is. The highest and lowest states in the summary above are among states with at least 25 listed specialists, so one or two shops can't decide them.
Suggested citation
CeramicCoating.com, "Ceramic Coating and PPF Specialist Census," October 2026. Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 population estimates (NST-EST2024-ALLDATA), July 1, 2024. https://ceramiccoating.com/research/specialist-census/