Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Wisconsin
Convenience stores in the Madison, WI metro area
The convenience stores in the Madison, WI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 83 out of 100: High
Ranked #10 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 198
- 138 chain locations (70%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $1.9B
- On groceries · $6,406 a household
- Spending per listing
- $9.8M
- 24% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.6
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 709,685
- +4.1% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison metro area has a Groundwork market score of 83 (high): #10 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for convenience stores.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 198 convenience stores in the Madison metro area. 138 of them (70%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. That is 6.6 per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Households in the Madison metro area spend about $1.9B a year on groceries, or $6,406 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $9.8M per store, 24% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Madison metro area classed as convenience stores. That is one for every 25,132 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.3M has gone to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Madison metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Madison metro area grew 4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Madison 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 | Madison metro area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.6 | 7.8 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $9.8M | $7.8M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 25,132 | 15,400 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +25.8% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,406 | $6,105 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $88,804 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 83 | 57 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 142
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 198138 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 245The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $1.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Madison 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 Madison metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 709,685+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 301,580
- Median age
- 39.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 3,309 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 209
- Median household income
- $88,804+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $116,647
- Median home value
- $372,400
- Jobs located here
- 417,554
- Daytime population
- 747,946Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison 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 |
Other business types in the Madison 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 stores74
- Grocery stores74
- Convenience stores83
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 Madison, WI metro area?
There are 198 convenience stores on map listings in the Madison metro area as of September 2026. 138 of them (70%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Madison, WI metro area spend on groceries?
About $1.9B a year, or $6,406 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 198 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $9.8M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 301,580 households in the Madison metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Madison, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Madison metro area has 6.6 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $9.8M, 24% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Madison metro area would have about 245, against 198 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 25,132 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is the Madison, WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Madison metro area at 709,685 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 301,580 households. Median household income in the Madison metro area is $88,804, 10% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.7%, 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 Madison metro area scores 83 for convenience stores (high), #10 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 Madison 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 Madison metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Madison 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 Madison 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.