Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Michigan

Convenience stores in the Big Rapids, MI area

The convenience stores in the Big Rapids, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #211 of 529 scored small-town markets
#8 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
15
4 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$92.7M
On groceries · $5,551 a household
Spending per listing
$6.2M
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.0
13% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
42,320
+4.7% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Big Rapids area

The site report maps the convenience stores on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Big Rapids area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in the Big Rapids area spend about $92.7M a year on groceries, or $5,551 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That works out to $6.2M per store, 22% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

The Big Rapids area has 15 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That is 9.0 per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in the Big Rapids area classed as convenience stores. That is one for every 3,342 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Big Rapids area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for convenience stores in the Big Rapids area is 57 (upper middle), #211 of 529 scored small-town markets and #8 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.

How the Big Rapids area compares

The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all groceries by the convenience stores counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Convenience stores in Big Rapids, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureBig Rapids areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.06.98.0
Spending per listing$6.2M$8.8M$7.9M
Households per official establishment3,3424,8413,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.9%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.7%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,551$6,009$6,319
Median household income$60,951$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score5751

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5
Employees, 2023
29
Annual payroll, 2023
$567K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
154 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Big Rapids area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Big Rapids area

Population, 2025 estimate
42,320+4.7% since 2020
Households
16,708
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
555 sq. mi.
People per square mile
74
Median household income
$60,951+35.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,230
Median home value
$178,900
Jobs located here
11,143
Daytime population
38,247Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Big Rapids area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Big Rapids area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Convenience stores across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Big Rapids area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Holland, MI75459.9$6.3M+2.1%#53 of 529
2Adrian, MI71225.7$10.4M−1.6%#77 of 529
3Marquette, MI673010.6$5.4M+2.3%#115 of 529
4Owosso, MI66217.5$7.8M−0.4%#120 of 529
5Hillsdale, MI61147.8$7.3M0.0%#164 of 529
6Houghton, MI60149.1$6.2M+1.8%#178 of 529
7Sturgis, MI60229.3$6.1M+0.1%#179 of 529
8Big Rapids, MI57159.0$6.2M+4.7%#211 of 529
9Iron Mountain, MI-WI53149.9$5.7M+0.4%#254 of 529
10Coldwater, MI511911.2$5M+2.5%#278 of 529

Other business types in the Big Rapids area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Big Rapids, MI area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 15 convenience stores in the Big Rapids area. 4 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Big Rapids, MI area spend on groceries?

About $92.7M a year, or $5,551 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $6.2M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,708 households in the Big Rapids area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Big Rapids, MI area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

The Big Rapids area has 9.0 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $6.2M, 22% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Big Rapids area would have about 12, against 15 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,342 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is the Big Rapids, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Big Rapids area at 42,320 people in 2025, up 4.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,708 households. The median household income in the Big Rapids area is $60,951 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.4% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Big Rapids area scores 57 for convenience stores (upper middle), #211 of 529 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Big Rapids area. It maps the convenience stores on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for convenience stores · All 56 business types in the Big Rapids area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Big Rapids area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Big Rapids area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.