Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Wisconsin
Convenience stores in the Eau Claire, WI metro area
How the Eau Claire, WI metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #301 of 387 scored metro areas
#13 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 93
- 68 chain locations (73%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $432.7M
- On groceries · $6,022 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 41% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.9
- 61% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 176,647
- +2.6% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro area has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #301 of 387 scored metro areas and #13 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 93 convenience stores in the Eau Claire metro area. 68 of them (73%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. That comes to 12.9 for every 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Households in the Eau Claire metro area spend about $432.7M a year on groceries, or $6,022 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.7M of household spending for each store on map listings, 41% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in the Eau Claire metro area: counts under 3 aren’t published. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $867K have gone to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Eau Claire metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Eau Claire metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Eau Claire metro area compares
The same measures for Wisconsin 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 | Eau Claire metro area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.9 | 7.8 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $7.8M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 15,400 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +25.8% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.6% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,022 | $6,105 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $74,595 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 57 |
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
- 9368 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 55The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $867K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 176,647+2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 71,865
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,646 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 106
- Median household income
- $74,595+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,224
- Median home value
- $259,900
- Jobs located here
- 86,835
- Daytime population
- 182,644Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Eau Claire metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Eau Claire metro 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 Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Wisconsin for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Eau Claire metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 83 | 870 | 5.9 | $11.3M | +2.6% | #9 of 387 |
| 1Madison, WI | 83 | 198 | 6.6 | $9.8M | +4.1% | #10 of 387 |
| 2Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 73 | 305 | 4.6 | $13.2M | 0.0% | #44 of 387 |
| 3Kenosha, WI | 72 | 36 | 5.2 | $11.9M | −0.4% | #53 of 387 |
| 4Appleton, WI | 63 | 75 | 7.5 | $8.4M | +2.7% | #107 of 387 |
| 5Green Bay, WI | 62 | 96 | 7.1 | $8.7M | +2.5% | #115 of 387 |
| 6Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 60 | 56 | 7.0 | $8.8M | +0.4% | #127 of 387 |
| 7Fond du Lac, WI | 60 | 33 | 7.6 | $7.9M | +0.5% | #130 of 387 |
| 8Sheboygan, WI | 60 | 38 | 7.6 | $7.9M | 0.0% | #131 of 387 |
| 9Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 60 | 60 | 8.3 | $7.3M | +1.4% | #133 of 387 |
| 13Eau Claire, WI | 34 | 93 | 12.9 | $4.7M | +2.6% | #301 of 387 |
Other business types in the Eau Claire metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores52
- Grocery stores71
- Convenience stores34
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 Eau Claire, WI metro area?
There are 93 convenience stores on map listings in the Eau Claire metro area as of September 2026. 68 of them (73%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. No official count is published for convenience stores in the Eau Claire metro area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Eau Claire, WI metro area spend on groceries?
About $432.7M a year, or $6,022 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 93 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,865 households in the Eau Claire metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Eau Claire, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Eau Claire metro area has 12.9 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $4.7M, 41% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Eau Claire metro area would have about 55, against 93 on map listings.
How fast is the Eau Claire, WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Eau Claire metro area at 176,647 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,865 households. Median household income in the Eau Claire metro area is $74,595, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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. The Eau Claire metro area scores 34 for convenience stores (lower middle), #301 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Eau Claire metro 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 Eau Claire metro 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.