Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Wisconsin
Grocery and convenience stores in the Appleton, WI metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Appleton, WI metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #44 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 169
- 73 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 29
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $629.1M
- On groceries · $6,306 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 10% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.9
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 249,876
- +2.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 169 grocery and convenience stores in the Appleton metro area. Chain locations make up 43% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 16.9 per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $6,306 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Appleton metro area spend about $629.1M a year on groceries. That works out to $3.7M per store, 10% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 29 businesses with payroll in the Appleton metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 3,440 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 39 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Appleton metro area grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Appleton metro area scores 73 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #44 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Appleton metro area compares
The same measures for Wisconsin 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 | Appleton metro area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.9 | 20.0 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,440 | 2,181 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +4.0% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,306 | $6,105 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $85,825 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 290.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,869
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $43.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 39Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16973 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 186The 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 Appleton 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 Appleton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 249,876+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 99,754
- Median age
- 40.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 956 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 257
- Median household income
- $85,825+26.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $112,747
- Median home value
- $268,900
- Jobs located here
- 130,221
- Daytime population
- 246,801Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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 Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Wisconsin for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Appleton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 81 | 2,105 | 14.2 | $4.7M | +2.6% | #17 of 387 |
| 1Madison, WI | 74 | 534 | 17.7 | $3.6M | +4.1% | #38 of 387 |
| 2Appleton, WI | 73 | 169 | 16.9 | $3.7M | +2.7% | #44 of 387 |
| 3Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 64 | 120 | 16.5 | $3.6M | +1.4% | #101 of 387 |
| 4Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 62 | 1,005 | 15.3 | $4M | 0.0% | #115 of 387 |
| 5Kenosha, WI | 60 | 115 | 16.7 | $3.7M | −0.4% | #127 of 387 |
| 6Green Bay, WI | 59 | 270 | 19.8 | $3.1M | +2.5% | #136 of 387 |
| 7Janesville-Beloit, WI | 58 | 111 | 16.5 | $3.6M | +1.7% | #141 of 387 |
| 8Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 54 | 137 | 17.0 | $3.6M | +0.4% | #175 of 387 |
| 9La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 53 | 142 | 19.7 | $3M | +0.4% | #183 of 387 |
Other business types in the Appleton 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 stores73
- Grocery stores79
- Convenience stores63
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 Appleton, WI metro area?
There are 169 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Appleton metro area as of September 2026. 73 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 39 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Appleton, WI metro area spend on groceries?
About $629.1M a year, or $6,306 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 169 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 99,754 households in the Appleton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Appleton, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Appleton metro area has 16.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.7M, 10% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Appleton metro area would have about 186, against 169 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,440 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Appleton, WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Appleton metro area at 249,876 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 99,754 households. Median household income in the Appleton metro area is $85,825, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.9%, 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. The Appleton metro area scores 73 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #44 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 Appleton 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 Appleton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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.