Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Michigan
Convenience stores in the Escanaba, MI area
How the Escanaba, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #411 of 529 scored small-town markets
#16 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 19
- 8 chain locations (42%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $89.2M
- On groceries · $5,582 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 40% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.9
- 49% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 36,582
- −0.8% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Escanaba 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 Escanaba area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For convenience stores, the Escanaba area has a Groundwork market score of 35 (lower middle): #411 of 529 scored small-town markets and #16 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Escanaba area spend about $89.2M a year on groceries, or $5,582 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4.7M per store, 40% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.
The Escanaba area has 19 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (42%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.9, 49% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in the Escanaba area in 2023. That is one for every 2,662 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $35K has gone to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Escanaba area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Escanaba area declined 0.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Escanaba 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.
| Measure | Escanaba area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.9 | 6.9 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $8.8M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,662 | 4,841 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.9% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,582 | $6,009 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $57,809 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6
- Employees, 2023
- 41
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $663K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 198 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $35K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Escanaba 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 Escanaba area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 36,582−0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 15,971
- Median age
- 48.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,171 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 31
- Median household income
- $57,809+21.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,442
- Median home value
- $157,100
- Jobs located here
- 12,720
- Daytime population
- 35,893Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Escanaba 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 Escanaba area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardConvenience 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 Escanaba area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 75 | 45 | 9.9 | $6.3M | +2.1% | #53 of 529 |
| 2Adrian, MI | 71 | 22 | 5.7 | $10.4M | −1.6% | #77 of 529 |
| 3Marquette, MI | 67 | 30 | 10.6 | $5.4M | +2.3% | #115 of 529 |
| 4Owosso, MI | 66 | 21 | 7.5 | $7.8M | −0.4% | #120 of 529 |
| 5Hillsdale, MI | 61 | 14 | 7.8 | $7.3M | 0.0% | #164 of 529 |
| 6Houghton, MI | 60 | 14 | 9.1 | $6.2M | +1.8% | #178 of 529 |
| 7Sturgis, MI | 60 | 22 | 9.3 | $6.1M | +0.1% | #179 of 529 |
| 8Big Rapids, MI | 57 | 15 | 9.0 | $6.2M | +4.7% | #211 of 529 |
| 9Iron Mountain, MI-WI | 53 | 14 | 9.9 | $5.7M | +0.4% | #254 of 529 |
| 10Coldwater, MI | 51 | 19 | 11.2 | $5M | +2.5% | #278 of 529 |
| 16Escanaba, MI | 35 | 19 | 11.9 | $4.7M | −0.8% | #411 of 529 |
Other business types in the Escanaba area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores32
- Grocery stores25
- Convenience stores35
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many convenience stores are in the Escanaba, MI area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 convenience stores in the Escanaba area. 8 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Escanaba, MI area spend on groceries?
About $89.2M a year, or $5,582 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 15,971 households in the Escanaba area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Escanaba, MI area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Escanaba area has 11.9 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 49% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $4.7M, 40% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Escanaba area would have about 11, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,662 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is the Escanaba, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Escanaba area at 36,582 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,971 households. The median household income in the Escanaba area is $57,809 a year, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.9% 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 Escanaba area scores 35 for convenience stores (lower middle), #411 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 Escanaba 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 Escanaba area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Escanaba 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 Escanaba 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.