Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Minnesota
Grocery and convenience stores in the Detroit Lakes, MN area
The grocery and convenience stores in the Detroit Lakes, MN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #150 of 538 scored small-town markets
#7 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 32
- 11 chain locations (34%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $85.7M
- On groceries · $5,946 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 21% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 22.2
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 35,497
- +0.9% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Detroit Lakes area
The site report maps the grocery and 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 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 32 grocery and convenience stores in the Detroit Lakes area. 11 of them (34%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That is 22.2 per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Households in the Detroit Lakes area spend about $85.7M a year on groceries, or $5,946 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.7M per store, 21% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Detroit Lakes area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,801 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Detroit Lakes area grew 0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Detroit Lakes area scores 63 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #150 of 538 scored small-town markets and #7 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota.
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 groceries by the grocery and 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 | Detroit Lakes area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 22.2 | 17.5 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $3.7M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,801 | 2,009 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +1.6% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.9% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,946 | $6,414 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $71,388 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8
- Employees, 2023
- 182
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3211 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25The 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 grocery and convenience stores 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 grocery and convenience stores 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 cardGrocery and convenience stores across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for grocery and convenience stores, 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 | 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 |
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
- Grocery and convenience stores63
- Grocery stores66
- 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 grocery and convenience stores are in the Detroit Lakes, MN area?
The Detroit Lakes area has 32 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 11 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Detroit Lakes, MN area spend on groceries?
About $85.7M a year, or $5,946 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per store. 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 grocery and convenience stores?
The Detroit Lakes area has 22.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.7M, 21% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Detroit Lakes area would have about 25, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,801 households, against one for every 1,293 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 63 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #150 of 538 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 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.
How the score works · Top markets for grocery and convenience stores · 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.