Market rankings · Minnesota

Convenience stores in Minnesota

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Minnesota, ranked by the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 1,727; 1,177 chain locations (68%)
Official establishments: 151; −4.4% since 2019
Household spending a year: $14.8B; On groceries
Listings per 10k households: 7.5; 6% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $8.6M; 9% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #10 of 51; Market score 66 · Upper middle

A site report maps the convenience stores on map listings around any address in Minnesota by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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

There are 1,727 convenience stores on map listings in Minnesota as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 68% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That is 7.5 per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Households in Minnesota spend about $14.8B a year on groceries, or $6,414 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That works out to $8.6M per store, 9% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

In 2023, official counts showed 151 businesses with payroll in Minnesota classed as convenience stores, down 4.4% from 2019. That is one for every 15,284 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 22.0% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $544K have gone to businesses classed as convenience stores in Minnesota.

Among the 50 states and DC, Minnesota ranks #10 for convenience stores, with a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle). Of the 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Fargo metro area scores highest (85). Of the 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Faribault-Northfield area scores highest (89).

Every market in Minnesota for convenience stores

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Minnesota, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Minnesota, ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
Fargo, ND-MN	85	62	5.6	$10.8M	+7.7%	#5 of 387
1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	83	870	5.9	$11.3M	+2.6%	#9 of 387
2Rochester, MN	76	64	6.9	$9.4M	+2.0%	#34 of 387
Sioux Falls, SD-MN	61	117	9.5	$6.5M	+9.5%	#123 of 387
3Mankato, MN	59	27	6.6	$9.1M	+1.2%	#139 of 387
4St. Cloud, MN	50	91	11.6	$5.2M	+3.0%	#205 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN	44	60	8.3	$7.2M	+0.4%	#235 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN	32	45	10.3	$5.7M	+0.8%	#310 of 387
5Duluth, MN-WI	28	129	10.7	$5.5M	+0.2%	#328 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Minnesota, ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Faribault-Northfield, MN	89	17	7.2	$8.6M	+4.2%	#2 of 529
2Austin, MN	80	11	7.0	$8.5M	+2.3%	#23 of 529
3Marshall, MN	77	7	6.9	$8.6M	+1.0%	#39 of 529
4Owatonna, MN	73	12	7.9	$7.8M	+0.2%	#62 of 529
5Red Wing, MN	73	17	8.6	$7.1M	+1.3%	#65 of 529
6Winona, MN	71	17	8.4	$7M	+1.8%	#83 of 529
7Detroit Lakes, MN	64	14	9.7	$6.1M	+0.9%	#139 of 529
8Alexandria, MN	63	21	12.0	$5.1M	+2.6%	#152 of 529
9Bemidji, MN	62	18	9.9	$5.9M	+1.8%	#160 of 529
10Albert Lea, MN	60	10	7.8	$7.5M	−1.5%	#173 of 529
11Grand Rapids, MN	60	22	11.9	$4.9M	+0.9%	#185 of 529
12New Ulm, MN	59	9	8.2	$7.2M	−1.5%	#190 of 529
Wahpeton, ND-MN	57	10	10.5	$5.7M	0.0%	#214 of 529
13Fairmont, MN	56	6	6.8	$8.3M	−2.8%	#219 of 529
14Hutchinson, MN	56	17	11.2	$5.5M	−0.3%	#228 of 529
15Brainerd, MN	56	59	14.0	$4.3M	+4.3%	#230 of 529
16Willmar, MN	54	24	13.6	$4.4M	+2.3%	#249 of 529
17Fergus Falls, MN	50	36	14.3	$4.2M	+1.6%	#288 of 529
18Worthington, MN	47	10	13.0	$4.5M	+0.6%	#316 of 529

Counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Washington County, MN	92	66	6.3	$11.2M	+6.9%	#22 of 2,261
2Dakota County, MN	91	102	5.8	$11.6M	+3.9%	#28 of 2,261
3Sherburne County, MN	89	23	6.5	$10.4M	+6.8%	#46 of 2,261
4Scott County, MN	89	39	7.1	$10M	+5.1%	#48 of 2,261
5Carver County, MN	89	31	7.5	$9.6M	+6.6%	#50 of 2,261
6Anoka County, MN	88	99	7.2	$9.2M	+4.7%	#64 of 2,261
7Olmsted County, MN	85	40	6.0	$11.1M	+2.3%	#90 of 2,261
8Wright County, MN	85	51	9.4	$7.1M	+11.1%	#95 of 2,261
9Le Sueur County, MN	84	6	5.2	$12.4M	+2.9%	#99 of 2,261
10Hennepin County, MN	83	235	4.4	$15.3M	+0.2%	#112 of 2,261
11Clay County, MN	83	11	4.2	$14.7M	+3.6%	#113 of 2,261
12Rice County, MN	81	17	7.2	$8.6M	+4.2%	#150 of 2,261
13Isanti County, MN	81	12	7.4	$8.5M	+7.3%	#151 of 2,261
14Chisago County, MN	79	19	8.9	$7.4M	+4.3%	#204 of 2,261
15Dodge County, MN	76	6	7.4	$8.7M	+2.3%	#280 of 2,261
16Ramsey County, MN	75	114	5.2	$12.2M	−1.8%	#288 of 2,261
17Nicollet County, MN	71	7	5.4	$11.6M	−0.7%	#395 of 2,261
18Mower County, MN	70	11	7.0	$8.5M	+2.3%	#432 of 2,261
19Sibley County, MN	70	5	8.4	$7.3M	+3.6%	#442 of 2,261
20Blue Earth County, MN	68	20	7.2	$8.2M	+2.1%	#484 of 2,261
21Lyon County, MN	67	7	6.9	$8.6M	+1.0%	#518 of 2,261
22Stearns County, MN	65	71	11.6	$5.2M	+3.6%	#605 of 2,261
23Steele County, MN	64	12	7.9	$7.8M	+0.2%	#621 of 2,261
24Goodhue County, MN	64	17	8.6	$7.1M	+1.3%	#626 of 2,261
25Winona County, MN	60	17	8.4	$7M	+1.8%	#761 of 2,261

Show all 87 counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Meeker County, MN	59	8	8.6	$7M	+0.7%	#796 of 2,261
27Wabasha County, MN	59	9	9.8	$6.3M	+0.7%	#803 of 2,261
28Kanabec County, MN	56	7	10.7	$5.5M	+3.6%	#908 of 2,261
29Fillmore County, MN	55	9	10.3	$5.8M	+1.4%	#947 of 2,261
30Crow Wing County, MN	55	36	12.2	$4.9M	+4.3%	#956 of 2,261
31Houston County, MN	54	7	8.6	$7.1M	−2.3%	#979 of 2,261
32Becker County, MN	54	14	9.7	$6.1M	+0.9%	#986 of 2,261
33Douglas County, MN	54	21	12.0	$5.1M	+2.6%	#996 of 2,261
34Itasca County, MN	54	22	11.9	$4.9M	+0.9%	#997 of 2,261
35Freeborn County, MN	53	10	7.8	$7.5M	−1.5%	#1,005 of 2,261
36St. Louis County, MN	53	81	9.3	$6.3M	+0.2%	#1,017 of 2,261
37Pope County, MN	53	5	10.1	$5.9M	+0.8%	#1,025 of 2,261
38Beltrami County, MN	53	18	9.9	$5.9M	+1.8%	#1,026 of 2,261
39Brown County, MN	51	9	8.2	$7.2M	−1.5%	#1,075 of 2,261
40Martin County, MN	50	6	6.8	$8.3M	−2.8%	#1,114 of 2,261
41Polk County, MN	50	11	8.9	$6.7M	−1.8%	#1,117 of 2,261
42Pine County, MN	50	16	13.0	$4.5M	+5.5%	#1,140 of 2,261
43McLeod County, MN	49	17	11.2	$5.5M	−0.3%	#1,162 of 2,261
44Benton County, MN	48	20	12.0	$5M	+0.9%	#1,204 of 2,261
45Kandiyohi County, MN	47	24	13.6	$4.4M	+2.3%	#1,246 of 2,261
46Mille Lacs County, MN	47	16	15.0	$3.9M	+4.8%	#1,249 of 2,261
47Wadena County, MN	46	6	9.9	$5.7M	+1.9%	#1,267 of 2,261
48Hubbard County, MN	46	14	15.6	$3.8M	+4.6%	#1,288 of 2,261
49Todd County, MN	43	14	13.7	$4.2M	+3.0%	#1,380 of 2,261
50Otter Tail County, MN	43	36	14.3	$4.2M	+1.6%	#1,382 of 2,261
51Nobles County, MN	40	10	13.0	$4.5M	+0.6%	#1,487 of 2,261
52Cass County, MN	40	23	17.9	$3.3M	+4.2%	#1,499 of 2,261
53Morrison County, MN	39	21	14.9	$3.9M	+1.9%	#1,525 of 2,261
54Carlton County, MN	38	26	18.5	$3.3M	+1.4%	#1,570 of 2,261
55Cottonwood County, MN	36	6	13.0	$4.5M	−1.0%	#1,614 of 2,261
56Renville County, MN	34	8	13.2	$4.5M	−2.3%	#1,678 of 2,261
57Pennington County, MN	34	9	14.5	$4.1M	−1.8%	#1,682 of 2,261
58Aitkin County, MN	33	12	16.6	$3.4M	+3.5%	#1,728 of 2,261
59Chippewa County, MN	31	7	13.7	$4.3M	−1.6%	#1,777 of 2,261
60Roseau County, MN	31	11	17.5	$3.4M	−0.3%	#1,783 of 2,261
61Redwood County, MN	29	9	14.3	$4M	−1.0%	#1,829 of 2,261
62Koochiching County, MN	24	10	17.0	$3.4M	−3.7%	#1,952 of 2,261
63Lake County, MN	24	10	20.2	$2.9M	−1.6%	#1,961 of 2,261
Waseca County, MN	Not scored	1	1.3	$44.5M	−1.5%
Faribault County, MN	Not scored	2	3.3	$17.6M	−0.1%
Watonwan County, MN	Not scored	3	7.1	$8.4M	+2.0%
Jackson County, MN	Not scored	6	13.7	$4.4M	−1.3%
Swift County, MN	Not scored	8	19.4	$3M	−0.4%
Stevens County, MN	Not scored	3	7.7	$7.8M	+0.8%
Rock County, MN	Not scored	3	7.4	$8.1M	−1.7%
Yellow Medicine County, MN	Not scored	2	4.9	$12.2M	−0.2%
Pipestone County, MN	Not scored	6	15.1	$3.9M	−1.7%
Marshall County, MN	Not scored	2	5.3	$11.1M	−2.5%
Clearwater County, MN	Not scored	6	18.0	$3.2M	+1.0%
Murray County, MN	Not scored	3	8.3	$7.1M	−2.9%
Lac qui Parle County, MN	Not scored	4	13.7	$4.4M	+0.2%
Wilkin County, MN	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.9%
Norman County, MN	Not scored	5	18.5	$3.2M	−1.6%
Grant County, MN	Not scored	4	16.1	$3.7M	−0.1%
Cook County, MN	Not scored	8	29.5	$2.1M	−1.4%
Lincoln County, MN	Not scored	2	8.2	$7.1M	−0.7%
Mahnomen County, MN	Not scored	6	31.8	$1.7M	−4.1%
Big Stone County, MN	Not scored	3	14.0	$4.2M	−2.0%
Kittson County, MN	Not scored	5	28.2	$2.1M	−3.7%
Red Lake County, MN	Not scored	3	18.0	$3.3M	+0.1%
Lake of the Woods County, MN	Not scored	4	22.0	$2.8M	0.0%
Traverse County, MN	Not scored	2	15.3	$3.8M	−6.8%

Markets with fewer than 5 convenience stores on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many convenience stores are in Minnesota?

As of September 2026, map listings count 1,727 convenience stores in Minnesota. 1,177 of them (68%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 151 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023, down 4.4% from 2019.

How much do households in Minnesota spend on groceries?

About $14.8B a year, or $6,414 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,727 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $8.6M 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 2,307,955 households in Minnesota and national spending patterns by income.

How does Minnesota compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

Minnesota has 7.5 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $8.6M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Minnesota would have about 1,879, against 1,727 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 15,284 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +22.0% for the U.S.

Which market in Minnesota has the highest market score for convenience stores?

Among 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Fargo metro area scores highest, at 85 (high). Among 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Faribault-Northfield area scores highest, at 89 (high). Among 63 scored counties in Minnesota, Washington County scores highest, at 92 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. 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. Minnesota scores 66 for convenience stores (upper middle), #10 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Minnesota. 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.

Grocery and convenience stores4,030 listings
Grocery stores1,366 listings

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