Market rankings · Minnesota

Grocery and convenience stores in Minnesota

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Minnesota, ranked by the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 4,030; 1,715 chain locations (43%)
Official establishments: 1,149; +1.6% since 2019
Household spending a year: $14.8B; On groceries
Listings per 10k households: 17.5; 6% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $3.7M; 8% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #10 of 51; Market score 67 · Upper middle

A site report maps the grocery and convenience stores on map listings around any address in Minnesota by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

There are 4,030 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Minnesota as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 43% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.5, 6% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Households in Minnesota spend about $14.8B a year on groceries, or $6,414 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. Spread across 4,030 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.7M per store, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

In 2023, official counts showed 1,149 businesses with payroll in Minnesota classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 1.6% from 2019. That is one for every 2,009 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 7.2% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 57 SBA-backed loans worth $29.6M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Minnesota.

Among the 50 states and DC, Minnesota ranks #10 for grocery and convenience stores, with a Groundwork market score of 67 (upper middle). Of the 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Fargo metro area scores highest (84). Of the 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Faribault-Northfield area scores highest (85).

Every market in Minnesota for grocery and convenience stores

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Minnesota, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Minnesota, ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
Fargo, ND-MN	84	159	14.4	$4.2M	+7.7%	#13 of 387
1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	81	2,105	14.2	$4.7M	+2.6%	#17 of 387
2Rochester, MN	74	151	16.3	$4M	+2.0%	#37 of 387
3Mankato, MN	72	60	14.8	$4.1M	+1.2%	#49 of 387
Sioux Falls, SD-MN	67	242	19.8	$3.2M	+9.5%	#80 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN	53	142	19.7	$3M	+0.4%	#183 of 387
4Duluth, MN-WI	48	235	19.5	$3M	+0.2%	#214 of 387
5St. Cloud, MN	42	187	23.9	$2.5M	+3.0%	#255 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN	37	102	23.4	$2.5M	+0.8%	#290 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Minnesota, ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Faribault-Northfield, MN	85	43	18.3	$3.4M	+4.2%	#8 of 538
2Winona, MN	80	37	18.3	$3.2M	+1.8%	#20 of 538
3Owatonna, MN	71	30	19.8	$3.1M	+0.2%	#68 of 538
4Alexandria, MN	71	43	24.5	$2.5M	+2.6%	#71 of 538
5Hutchinson, MN	64	39	25.6	$2.4M	−0.3%	#137 of 538
6Austin, MN	63	28	17.8	$3.3M	+2.3%	#141 of 538
7Detroit Lakes, MN	63	32	22.2	$2.7M	+0.9%	#150 of 538
8Brainerd, MN	62	109	25.8	$2.3M	+4.3%	#163 of 538
9Marshall, MN	61	21	20.8	$2.9M	+1.0%	#167 of 538
10Red Wing, MN	60	49	24.8	$2.5M	+1.3%	#180 of 538
11Bemidji, MN	59	45	24.8	$2.4M	+1.8%	#191 of 538
12Willmar, MN	58	49	27.8	$2.2M	+2.3%	#207 of 538
13New Ulm, MN	57	23	20.9	$2.8M	−1.5%	#212 of 538
14Fairmont, MN	57	18	20.4	$2.8M	−2.8%	#214 of 538
15Albert Lea, MN	50	29	22.6	$2.6M	−1.5%	#283 of 538
16Fergus Falls, MN	49	81	32.2	$1.8M	+1.6%	#298 of 538
Wahpeton, ND-MN	43	28	29.5	$2M	0.0%	#359 of 538
17Grand Rapids, MN	39	53	28.6	$2M	+0.9%	#392 of 538
18Worthington, MN	30	29	37.8	$1.6M	+0.6%	#456 of 538

Counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Washington County, MN	95	127	12.0	$5.8M	+6.9%	#12 of 2,402
2Sherburne County, MN	93	40	11.3	$6M	+6.8%	#22 of 2,402
3Scott County, MN	91	71	12.9	$5.5M	+5.1%	#35 of 2,402
4Carver County, MN	91	66	16.0	$4.5M	+6.6%	#40 of 2,402
5Dakota County, MN	90	213	12.2	$5.5M	+3.9%	#47 of 2,402
6Anoka County, MN	89	184	13.4	$5M	+4.7%	#55 of 2,402
7Isanti County, MN	89	24	14.7	$4.2M	+7.3%	#59 of 2,402
8Wright County, MN	88	101	18.7	$3.6M	+11.1%	#70 of 2,402
9Clay County, MN	87	31	11.7	$5.2M	+3.6%	#73 of 2,402
10Chisago County, MN	85	36	16.9	$3.9M	+4.3%	#103 of 2,402
11Dodge County, MN	84	10	12.4	$5.2M	+2.3%	#109 of 2,402
12Olmsted County, MN	83	94	14.0	$4.7M	+2.3%	#125 of 2,402
13Blue Earth County, MN	78	40	14.5	$4.1M	+2.1%	#223 of 2,402
14Hennepin County, MN	77	720	13.3	$5M	+0.2%	#237 of 2,402
15Rice County, MN	76	43	18.3	$3.4M	+4.2%	#279 of 2,402
16Nicollet County, MN	73	20	15.4	$4.1M	−0.7%	#352 of 2,402
17Winona County, MN	70	37	18.3	$3.2M	+1.8%	#448 of 2,402
18Wabasha County, MN	70	18	19.7	$3.2M	+0.7%	#450 of 2,402
19Le Sueur County, MN	70	24	20.6	$3.1M	+2.9%	#451 of 2,402
20Waseca County, MN	65	10	13.4	$4.5M	−1.5%	#580 of 2,402
21Benton County, MN	65	37	22.1	$2.7M	+0.9%	#607 of 2,402
22St. Louis County, MN	63	162	18.6	$3.2M	+0.2%	#671 of 2,402
23Crow Wing County, MN	63	69	23.5	$2.6M	+4.3%	#689 of 2,402
24Douglas County, MN	63	43	24.5	$2.5M	+2.6%	#690 of 2,402
25Ramsey County, MN	62	345	15.6	$4M	−1.8%	#696 of 2,402

Show all 87 counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Steele County, MN	62	30	19.8	$3.1M	+0.2%	#717 of 2,402
27Meeker County, MN	59	19	20.3	$2.9M	+0.7%	#837 of 2,402
28Kanabec County, MN	59	14	21.3	$2.8M	+3.6%	#840 of 2,402
29McLeod County, MN	58	39	25.6	$2.4M	−0.3%	#884 of 2,402
30Mille Lacs County, MN	57	30	28.1	$2.1M	+4.8%	#910 of 2,402
31Carlton County, MN	56	39	27.7	$2.2M	+1.4%	#958 of 2,402
32Becker County, MN	55	32	22.2	$2.7M	+0.9%	#988 of 2,402
33Sibley County, MN	55	18	30.4	$2M	+3.6%	#1,006 of 2,402
34Mower County, MN	54	28	17.8	$3.3M	+2.3%	#1,017 of 2,402
35Houston County, MN	54	18	22.1	$2.8M	−2.3%	#1,033 of 2,402
36Stearns County, MN	54	150	24.4	$2.5M	+3.6%	#1,045 of 2,402
37Lyon County, MN	53	21	20.8	$2.9M	+1.0%	#1,075 of 2,402
38Goodhue County, MN	53	49	24.8	$2.5M	+1.3%	#1,090 of 2,402
39Pine County, MN	53	31	25.2	$2.3M	+5.5%	#1,092 of 2,402
40Martin County, MN	52	18	20.4	$2.8M	−2.8%	#1,120 of 2,402
41Pope County, MN	52	11	22.2	$2.7M	+0.8%	#1,124 of 2,402
42Kandiyohi County, MN	52	49	27.8	$2.2M	+2.3%	#1,144 of 2,402
43Brown County, MN	51	23	20.9	$2.8M	−1.5%	#1,165 of 2,402
44Beltrami County, MN	51	45	24.8	$2.4M	+1.8%	#1,180 of 2,402
45Renville County, MN	49	14	23.1	$2.5M	−2.3%	#1,255 of 2,402
46Faribault County, MN	47	10	16.5	$3.5M	−0.1%	#1,308 of 2,402
47Freeborn County, MN	45	29	22.6	$2.6M	−1.5%	#1,394 of 2,402
48Otter Tail County, MN	45	81	32.2	$1.8M	+1.6%	#1,416 of 2,402
49Pennington County, MN	44	18	29.0	$2.1M	−1.8%	#1,457 of 2,402
50Roseau County, MN	41	18	28.6	$2.1M	−0.3%	#1,565 of 2,402
51Cass County, MN	41	40	31.1	$1.9M	+4.2%	#1,570 of 2,402
52Fillmore County, MN	40	29	33.2	$1.8M	+1.4%	#1,617 of 2,402
53Hubbard County, MN	40	31	34.6	$1.7M	+4.6%	#1,620 of 2,402
54Aitkin County, MN	39	18	24.9	$2.2M	+3.5%	#1,641 of 2,402
55Watonwan County, MN	37	16	37.9	$1.6M	+2.0%	#1,732 of 2,402
56Itasca County, MN	36	53	28.6	$2M	+0.9%	#1,753 of 2,402
57Polk County, MN	36	37	29.9	$2M	−1.8%	#1,756 of 2,402
58Morrison County, MN	35	43	30.5	$1.9M	+1.9%	#1,797 of 2,402
59Cottonwood County, MN	34	15	32.4	$1.8M	−1.0%	#1,832 of 2,402
60Todd County, MN	34	37	36.2	$1.6M	+3.0%	#1,839 of 2,402
61Lake County, MN	31	15	30.4	$2M	−1.6%	#1,927 of 2,402
62Redwood County, MN	27	20	31.8	$1.8M	−1.0%	#2,045 of 2,402
63Koochiching County, MN	26	15	25.5	$2.3M	−3.7%	#2,062 of 2,402
64Chippewa County, MN	26	15	29.3	$2M	−1.6%	#2,070 of 2,402
65Nobles County, MN	26	29	37.8	$1.6M	+0.6%	#2,090 of 2,402
66Wadena County, MN	24	22	36.2	$1.6M	+1.9%	#2,135 of 2,402
Jackson County, MN	Not scored	11	25.1	$2.4M	−1.3%
Swift County, MN	Not scored	14	34.0	$1.7M	−0.4%
Stevens County, MN	Not scored	9	23.1	$2.6M	+0.8%
Rock County, MN	Not scored	9	22.3	$2.7M	−1.7%
Yellow Medicine County, MN	Not scored	8	19.7	$3.1M	−0.2%
Pipestone County, MN	Not scored	13	32.7	$1.8M	−1.7%
Marshall County, MN	Not scored	12	31.7	$1.9M	−2.5%
Clearwater County, MN	Not scored	12	35.9	$1.6M	+1.0%
Murray County, MN	Not scored	10	27.7	$2.1M	−2.9%
Lac qui Parle County, MN	Not scored	11	37.6	$1.6M	+0.2%
Wilkin County, MN	Not scored	3	11.3	$5.2M	−2.9%
Norman County, MN	Not scored	8	29.6	$2M	−1.6%
Grant County, MN	Not scored	8	32.1	$1.8M	−0.1%
Cook County, MN	Not scored	15	55.4	$1.1M	−1.4%
Lincoln County, MN	Not scored	7	28.6	$2M	−0.7%
Mahnomen County, MN	Not scored	11	58.4	$953K	−4.1%
Big Stone County, MN	Not scored	8	37.5	$1.6M	−2.0%
Kittson County, MN	Not scored	9	50.7	$1.2M	−3.7%
Red Lake County, MN	Not scored	6	35.9	$1.7M	+0.1%
Lake of the Woods County, MN	Not scored	6	33.0	$1.8M	0.0%
Traverse County, MN	Not scored	6	45.8	$1.3M	−6.8%

Markets with fewer than 5 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Minnesota?

As of September 2026, map listings count 4,030 grocery and convenience stores in Minnesota. 1,715 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 1,149 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 1.6% from 2019. Another 794 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Minnesota spend on groceries?

About $14.8B a year, or $6,414 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4,030 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,307,955 households in Minnesota and national spending patterns by income.

How does Minnesota compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

Minnesota has 17.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.7M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Minnesota would have about 4,370, against 4,030 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,009 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

Which market in Minnesota has the highest market score for grocery and convenience stores?

Among 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Fargo metro area scores highest, at 84 (high). Among 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Faribault-Northfield area scores highest, at 85 (high). Among 66 scored counties in Minnesota, Washington County scores highest, at 95 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Minnesota scores 67 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #10 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Minnesota. It maps the grocery and 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.

Grocery stores1,366 listings
Convenience stores1,727 listings

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