Groceries and convenience · County · Minnesota
Convenience stores in Stearns County, MN
How Stearns County, MN compares with other counties and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #605 of 2,261 scored counties
#22 of 63 scored counties in Minnesota
- Listings
- 71
- 41 chain locations (58%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $371.9M
- On groceries · $6,056 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5.2M
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.6
- 45% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 164,110
- +3.6% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in Stearns County
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 Stearns County. 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
Household spending on groceries in Stearns County comes to about $371.9M a year: $6,056 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Spread across 71 convenience stores, that is $5.2M per store, 34% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.
There are 71 convenience stores on map listings in Stearns County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 58% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That is 11.6 per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in Stearns County classed as convenience stores. That is one for every 8,772 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Stearns County grew 3.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For convenience stores, Stearns County has a Groundwork market score of 65 (upper middle): #605 of 2,261 scored counties and #22 of 63 scored counties in Minnesota.
How Stearns County compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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 | Stearns County | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.6 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $5.2M | $8.6M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 8,772 | 15,284 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −4.4% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.6% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,056 | $6,414 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $77,066 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5 → 7
- Employees, 2023
- 30
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $763K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7141 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 47The 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 Stearns County, 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 Stearns County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 164,110+3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 61,403
- Median age
- 37.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,343 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 120
- Median household income
- $77,066+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $98,367
- Median home value
- $273,400
- Jobs located here
- 83,579
- Daytime population
- 169,051Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Stearns County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Stearns County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardConvenience stores across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Minnesota for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Stearns County marked.
Top counties in Minnesota
| 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 |
| 22Stearns County, MN | 65 | 71 | 11.6 | $5.2M | +3.6% | #605 of 2,261 |
Other business types in Stearns County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores54
- Grocery stores55
- Convenience stores65
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 Stearns County, MN?
As of September 2026, map listings count 71 convenience stores in Stearns County. 41 of them (58%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in Stearns County, MN spend on groceries?
About $371.9M a year, or $6,056 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 71 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $5.2M 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 61,403 households in Stearns County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Stearns County, MN compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
Stearns County has 11.6 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $5.2M, 34% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Stearns County would have about 47, against 71 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,772 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is Stearns County, MN growing?
Population estimates put Stearns County at 164,110 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 61,403 households. The median household income in Stearns County is $77,066 a year, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.7% 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. 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. Stearns County scores 65 for convenience stores (upper middle), #605 of 2,261 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Stearns County. 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 Stearns County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Stearns County?
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 Stearns County. 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.