Groceries and convenience · County · Minnesota
Grocery and convenience stores in Steele County, MN
How Steele County, MN compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #717 of 2,402 scored counties
#26 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota
- Listings
- 30
- 15 chain locations (50%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $93.4M
- On groceries · $6,172 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.1M
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.8
- 6% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,464
- +0.2% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Steele County
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 Steele County. 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
Households in Steele County spend about $93.4M a year on groceries, or $6,172 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.1M per store, 8% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
Steele County has 30 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 19.8 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in Steele County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,892 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Steele County grew 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Steele County scores 62 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #717 of 2,402 scored counties and #26 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota.
How Steele County 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 | Steele County | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.8 | 17.5 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.1M | $3.7M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,892 | 2,009 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +1.6% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.2% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,172 | $6,414 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $84,196 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7 → 8
- Employees, 2023
- 549
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3015 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 28The 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 Steele County, 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 Steele County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,464+0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 15,138
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 430 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 87
- Median household income
- $84,196+29.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $101,587
- Median home value
- $245,400
- Jobs located here
- 18,785
- Daytime population
- 38,229Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Steele County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Steele County. 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 counties in Minnesota for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Steele County marked.
Top counties in Minnesota
| 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 |
| 26Steele County, MN | 62 | 30 | 19.8 | $3.1M | +0.2% | #717 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Steele County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores62
- Grocery stores51
- 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 Steele County, MN?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 30 grocery and convenience stores in Steele County. 15 of them (50%) 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. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Steele County, MN spend on groceries?
About $93.4M a year, or $6,172 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 30 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.1M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,138 households in Steele County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Steele County, MN compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Steele County has 19.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.1M, 8% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Steele County would have about 28, against 30 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,892 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Steele County, MN growing?
Population estimates put Steele County at 37,464 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,138 households. The median household income in Steele County is $84,196 a year, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.7% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Steele County scores 62 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #717 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Steele County. 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 Steele County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Steele County?
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 Steele County. 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.