Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Montana
Grocery and convenience stores in the Helena, MT metro area
How the Helena, MT metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #56 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana
- Listings
- 65
- 19 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $238.2M
- On groceries · $6,101 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.7
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 97,153
- +7.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Helena metro 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 Helena 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
At $6,101 per household (3% below the U.S. average), households in the Helena metro area spend about $238.2M a year on groceries. That works out to $3.7M per store, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There are 65 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Helena metro area as of September 2026. 19 of them (29%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 16.7, 11% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Helena metro area was 19 in 2023. That is one for every 2,054 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 13 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Helena metro area grew 7.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Helena metro area has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #56 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Helena metro area compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Helena metro area | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.7 | 21.5 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $2.7M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,054 | 1,593 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.1% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.7% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,101 | $5,881 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $78,528 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19
- Employees, 2023
- 737
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $21.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 13Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6519 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 70The 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 Helena 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 Helena metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 97,153+7.7% since 2020
- Households
- 39,033
- Median age
- 42.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 6,308 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 15
- Median household income
- $78,528
- Average household income
- $105,667
- Median home value
- $401,200
- Jobs located here
- 45,504
- Daytime population
- 94,274Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Helena 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 grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Helena metro 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 Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Montana for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Montana, with the Helena metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Helena, MT | 71 | 65 | 16.7 | $3.7M | +7.7% | #56 of 387 |
| 2Missoula, MT | 66 | 90 | 16.4 | $3.6M | +4.7% | #87 of 387 |
| 3Billings, MT | 65 | 149 | 19.0 | $3.2M | +4.8% | #95 of 387 |
| 4Bozeman, MT | 60 | 104 | 20.3 | $3.2M | +7.7% | #130 of 387 |
| 5Great Falls, MT | 52 | 59 | 16.6 | $3.5M | +0.7% | #187 of 387 |
Other business types in the Helena 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 stores71
- Grocery stores62
- Convenience stores73
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 Helena, MT metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 65 grocery and convenience stores in the Helena metro area. 19 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Helena, MT metro area spend on groceries?
About $238.2M a year, or $6,101 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 65 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 39,033 households in the Helena metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Helena, MT metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Helena metro area has 16.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 11% 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, the Helena metro area would have about 70, against 65 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,054 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Helena, MT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Helena metro area at 97,153 people in 2025, up 7.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 39,033 households. The median household income in the Helena metro area is $78,528 a year, 3% 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. 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 Helena metro area scores 71 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #56 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 Helena metro 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 Helena metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Helena 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 Helena 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.