Groceries and convenience · County · Minnesota
Convenience stores in Steele County, MN
How Steele 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 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #621 of 2,261 scored counties
#23 of 63 scored counties in Minnesota
- Listings
- 12
- 10 chain locations (83%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $93.4M
- On groceries · $6,172 a household
- Spending per listing
- $7.8M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.9
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,464
- +0.2% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in Steele 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 Steele 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 Steele County comes to about $93.4M a year: $6,172 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. Spread across 12 convenience stores, that is $7.8M per store, in line with the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.
Steele County has 12 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 83%, against 60% across the U.S. That is 7.9 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for convenience stores in Steele County, since they leave out counts under 3.
Population estimates show Steele County grew 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Steele County scores 64 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #621 of 2,261 scored counties and #23 of 63 scored counties in Minnesota.
How Steele 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 | Steele County | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.9 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $7.8M | $8.6M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 15,284 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −4.4% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.2% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,172 | $6,414 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $84,196 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 66 |
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
- 1210 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 Steele 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 Steele County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,464+0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 15,138
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 430 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 87
- Median household income
- $84,196+29.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $101,587
- Median home value
- $245,400
- Jobs located here
- 18,785
- Daytime population
- 38,229Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Steele 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 Steele 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 Steele 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 |
| 23Steele County, MN | 64 | 12 | 7.9 | $7.8M | +0.2% | #621 of 2,261 |
Other business types in Steele County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores62
- Grocery stores51
- Convenience stores64
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 Steele County, MN?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 convenience stores in Steele County. 10 of them (83%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. No official count is published for convenience stores in Steele County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Steele County, MN spend on groceries?
About $93.4M a year, or $6,172 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $7.8M 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 15,138 households in Steele County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Steele County, MN compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
Steele County has 7.9 convenience stores per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $7.8M, in line with the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending.
How fast is Steele County, MN growing?
Population estimates put Steele County at 37,464 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,138 households. The median household income in Steele County is $84,196 a year, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.7% 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. Steele County scores 64 for convenience stores (upper middle), #621 of 2,261 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Steele 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 Steele County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Steele 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 Steele 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.