Auto · Small-town market · Minnesota
Gas stations in the Detroit Lakes, MN area
How the Detroit Lakes, MN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for gas stations: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 74 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #57 of 536 scored small-town markets
#4 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 18
- 13 chain locations (72%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $44.9M
- On gasoline and other fuels · $3,118 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.5M
- 5% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.5
- 15% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 35,497
- +0.9% since 2020
See the gas stations around any address in the Detroit Lakes area
The site report maps the gas stations 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 Detroit Lakes 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
Household spending on gasoline and other fuels in the Detroit Lakes area comes to about $44.9M a year: $3,118 per household, 20% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each station on map listings, 5% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M.
There are 18 gas stations on map listings in the Detroit Lakes area as of September 2026. 13 of them (72%) are chain locations, against 84% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.5, 15% above the U.S. rate of 10.9.
In 2023, official counts showed 17 businesses with payroll in the Detroit Lakes area classed as gasoline stations. That is one for every 848 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Detroit Lakes area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gas stations, the Detroit Lakes area has a Groundwork market score of 74 (upper middle): #57 of 536 scored small-town markets and #4 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Detroit Lakes area compares
The same measures for Minnesota and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all gasoline and other fuels by the gas stations 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 | Detroit Lakes area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.5 | 8.2 | 10.9 |
| Spending per listing | $2.5M | $3.3M | $2.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 848 | 1,132 | 1,184 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −3.7% | −3.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.9% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on gasoline and other fuels | $3,118 | $2,736 | $2,595 |
| Median household income | $71,388 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 74 | 63 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17
- Employees, 2023
- 197
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1813 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 19The 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 gasoline stations in the Detroit Lakes 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 Detroit Lakes area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 35,497+0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 14,410
- Median age
- 43.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 1,315 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 27
- Median household income
- $71,388
- Average household income
- $100,022
- Median home value
- $291,000
- Jobs located here
- 13,787
- Daytime population
- 33,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Detroit Lakes area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the gas stations on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Detroit Lakes area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGas stations across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for gas stations, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with the Detroit Lakes area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Faribault-Northfield, MN | 84 | 19 | 8.1 | $3.6M | +4.2% | #12 of 536 |
| 2Owatonna, MN | 76 | 7 | 4.6 | $6.4M | +0.2% | #45 of 536 |
| 3Winona, MN | 74 | 13 | 6.4 | $4.3M | +1.8% | #55 of 536 |
| 4Detroit Lakes, MN | 74 | 18 | 12.5 | $2.5M | +0.9% | #57 of 536 |
| 5Willmar, MN | 73 | 19 | 10.8 | $2.7M | +2.3% | #60 of 536 |
| 6Marshall, MN | 70 | 12 | 11.9 | $2.3M | +1.0% | #76 of 536 |
| 7Red Wing, MN | 69 | 25 | 12.7 | $2.3M | +1.3% | #83 of 536 |
| 8Brainerd, MN | 69 | 57 | 13.5 | $2.2M | +4.3% | #84 of 536 |
| 9Hutchinson, MN | 63 | 21 | 13.8 | $2.2M | −0.3% | #132 of 536 |
| 10Bemidji, MN | 62 | 24 | 13.2 | $2.2M | +1.8% | #143 of 536 |
Other business types in the Detroit Lakes area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gas stations are in the Detroit Lakes, MN area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 18 gas stations in the Detroit Lakes area. 13 of them (72%) are chain locations. The listings count gas stations. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as gasoline stations in 2023.
How much do households in the Detroit Lakes, MN area spend on gasoline and other fuels?
About $44.9M a year, or $3,118 per household. That is 20% above the U.S. average (an index of 120, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 gas stations on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per station. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,410 households in the Detroit Lakes area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Detroit Lakes, MN area compare with the U.S. for gas stations?
The Detroit Lakes area has 12.5 gas stations per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 10.9. Spending per station is $2.5M, 5% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M. At the U.S. ratio of gas stations to household spending, the Detroit Lakes area would have about 19, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 848 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S.
How fast is the Detroit Lakes, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Detroit Lakes area at 35,497 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 14,410 households. Median household income in the Detroit Lakes area is $71,388, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Detroit Lakes area scores 74 for gas stations (upper middle), #57 of 536 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Detroit Lakes area. It maps the gas stations 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 gas stations · All 56 business types in the Detroit Lakes area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Detroit Lakes 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 Detroit Lakes 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.