Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Michigan

Convenience stores in the Ludington, MI area

How the Ludington, 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 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #323 of 529 scored small-town markets
#12 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
15
7 chain locations (47%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$73.8M
On groceries · $5,764 a household
Spending per listing
$4.9M
38% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.7
46% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
29,040
0.0% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Ludington 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 Ludington 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

Household spending on groceries in the Ludington area comes to about $73.8M a year: $5,764 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.9M of household spending for each store on map listings, 38% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

The Ludington area has 15 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 7 of them (47%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. That comes to 11.7 for every 10,000 households, 46% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for convenience stores in the Ludington area, since they leave out counts under 3.

Population estimates show the Ludington area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For convenience stores, the Ludington area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #323 of 529 scored small-town markets and #12 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.

How the Ludington 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 Ludington, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureLudington areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.76.98.0
Spending per listing$4.9M$8.8M$7.9M
Households per official establishmentn/a4,8413,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.9%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,764$6,009$6,319
Median household income$64,748$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4651

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
157 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The 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 Ludington 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 Ludington area

Population, 2025 estimate
29,0400.0% since 2020
Households
12,801
Median age
47.3
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
495 sq. mi.
People per square mile
59
Median household income
$64,748+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,702
Median home value
$219,600
Jobs located here
8,586
Daytime population
26,202Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ludington 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 Ludington area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 Ludington 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
12Ludington, MI461511.7$4.9M0.0%#323 of 529

Other business types in the Ludington area

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Ludington, MI area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 15 convenience stores in the Ludington area. 7 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. No official count is published for convenience stores in the Ludington area: counts under 3 are left out.

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

About $73.8M a year, or $5,764 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.9M 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 12,801 households in the Ludington area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Ludington area has 11.7 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 46% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $4.9M, 38% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Ludington area would have about 9, against 15 on map listings.

How fast is the Ludington, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Ludington area at 29,040 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,801 households. The median household income in the Ludington area is $64,748 a year, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.2% 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 Ludington area scores 46 for convenience stores (lower middle), #323 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 Ludington 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 Ludington area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ludington 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 Ludington 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.