Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Wisconsin
Grocery and convenience stores in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #183 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 142
- 67 chain locations (47%)
- Official establishments
- 23
- +4.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $432.1M
- On groceries · $5,997 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3M
- 10% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.7
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 171,182
- +0.4% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the La Crosse-Onalaska 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 La Crosse-Onalaska 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
Household spending on groceries in the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area comes to about $432.1M a year: $5,997 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3M per store, 10% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The La Crosse-Onalaska metro area has 142 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 67 are chain locations, or 47%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 19.7 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area in 2023, up 4.6% from 2019. That is one for every 3,133 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 35 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area has a Groundwork market score of 53 (upper middle): #183 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin.
How the La Crosse-Onalaska 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 | La Crosse-Onalaska metro area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.7 | 20.0 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3M | $3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,133 | 2,181 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.6% | +4.0% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,997 | $6,105 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $73,340 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 23+4.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,187
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $46.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 35Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14267 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 128The 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 La Crosse-Onalaska 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 La Crosse-Onalaska metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 171,182+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 72,055
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,796 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 95
- Median household income
- $73,340
- Average household income
- $96,598
- Median home value
- $247,400
- Jobs located here
- 86,774
- Daytime population
- 175,958Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the La Crosse-Onalaska 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 La Crosse-Onalaska 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 La Crosse-Onalaska 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 La Crosse-Onalaska 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 stores53
- Grocery stores55
- Convenience stores44
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 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 142 grocery and convenience stores in the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area. 67 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 4.6% from 2019. Another 35 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area spend on groceries?
About $432.1M a year, or $5,997 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 142 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 72,055 households in the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The La Crosse-Onalaska metro area has 19.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area would have about 128, against 142 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,133 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area at 171,182 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,055 households. The median household income in the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area is $73,340 a year, 9% 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 La Crosse-Onalaska metro area scores 53 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #183 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 La Crosse-Onalaska 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 La Crosse-Onalaska metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the La Crosse-Onalaska 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 La Crosse-Onalaska 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.