Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Wisconsin

Grocery and convenience stores in Columbia County, WI

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in Columbia County, WI, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #731 of 2,402 scored counties
#23 of 67 scored counties in Wisconsin

Listings
53
25 chain locations (47%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$150.8M
On groceries · $6,242 a household
Spending per listing
$2.8M
16% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
21.9
17% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
58,132
−0.7% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Columbia 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 Columbia County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

Households in Columbia County spend about $150.8M a year on groceries, or $6,242 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $2.8M per store, 16% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Columbia County has 53 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 47% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 21.9, 17% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 10 businesses with payroll in Columbia County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 2,416 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $2.3M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Columbia County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Columbia County declined 0.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For grocery and convenience stores, Columbia County has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #731 of 2,402 scored counties and #23 of 67 scored counties in Wisconsin.

How Columbia County 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Columbia County, WI compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureColumbia CountyWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households21.920.018.7
Spending per listing$2.8M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment2,4162,1811,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.0%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.7%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,242$6,105$6,319
Median household income$85,351$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score6252

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8 → 10
Employees, 2023
371
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5325 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
45The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$2.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Columbia 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 Columbia County

Population, 2025 estimate
58,132−0.7% since 2020
Households
24,158
Median age
43.7
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
766 sq. mi.
People per square mile
76
Median household income
$85,351+25.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$102,726
Median home value
$283,200
Jobs located here
21,803
Daytime population
48,504Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Columbia 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 Columbia County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery and convenience stores across Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Wisconsin for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Wisconsin, with Columbia County marked.

Top counties in Wisconsin

Counties in Wisconsin ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waukesha County, WI8723313.8$4.9M+2.4%#75 of 2,402
2Ozaukee County, WI864612.0$5.5M+3.0%#87 of 2,402
3Calumet County, WI862913.6$4.7M+2.9%#89 of 2,402
4Dane County, WI8638515.3$4.2M+4.9%#93 of 2,402
5Washington County, WI809817.2$3.8M+1.8%#187 of 2,402
6Outagamie County, WI7914017.9$3.5M+2.6%#210 of 2,402
7St. Croix County, WI798322.1$3M+4.7%#213 of 2,402
8Winnebago County, WI7412016.5$3.6M+1.4%#327 of 2,402
9Brown County, WI7421119.0$3.2M+2.6%#337 of 2,402
10La Crosse County, WI728616.7$3.6M+0.3%#391 of 2,402
23Columbia County, WI625321.9$2.8M−0.7%#731 of 2,402

Other business types in Columbia County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Columbia County, WI?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 53 grocery and convenience stores in Columbia County. 25 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in Columbia County, WI spend on groceries?

About $150.8M a year, or $6,242 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 53 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.8M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,158 households in Columbia County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Columbia County, WI compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

Columbia County has 21.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.8M, 16% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Columbia County would have about 45, against 53 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,416 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Columbia County, WI growing?

Population estimates put Columbia County at 58,132 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 24,158 households. The median household income in Columbia County is $85,351 a year, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.5% 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. Columbia County scores 62 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #731 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Columbia 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 Columbia County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Columbia 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 Columbia 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.