Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Wisconsin

Grocery and convenience stores in Marathon County, WI

How Marathon County, WI 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #776 of 2,402 scored counties
#24 of 67 scored counties in Wisconsin

Listings
132
58 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
26
+4.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$351.9M
On groceries · $6,082 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
21% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.8
22% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
139,432
+1.0% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Marathon 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 Marathon 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 132 grocery and convenience stores in Marathon County. Of those, 58 are chain locations, or 44%, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 22.8 for every 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Households in Marathon County spend about $351.9M a year on groceries, or $6,082 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.7M per store, 21% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

In 2023, official counts showed 26 businesses with payroll in Marathon County classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 4.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,226 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 20 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $710K have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Marathon County.

Population estimates show Marathon County grew 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Marathon County is 61 (upper middle), #776 of 2,402 scored counties and #24 of 67 scored counties in Wisconsin.

How Marathon 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 Marathon County, WI compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureMarathon CountyWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.820.018.7
Spending per listing$2.7M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment2,2262,1811,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.0%+4.0%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.0%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,082$6,105$6,319
Median household income$77,884$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score6152

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
25 → 26+4.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,082
Annual payroll, 2023
$25.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
20Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
13258 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
104The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$710K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
139,432+1.0% since 2020
Households
57,866
Median age
42.0
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,545 sq. mi.
People per square mile
90
Median household income
$77,884+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,899
Median home value
$219,600
Jobs located here
72,449
Daytime population
141,458Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Marathon 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
24Marathon County, WI6113222.8$2.7M+1.0%#776 of 2,402

Other business types in Marathon County

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

Questions

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

Marathon County has 132 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 58 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 4.0% from 2019. Official counts list 20 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $351.9M a year, or $6,082 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 132 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 57,866 households in Marathon County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Marathon County has 22.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.7M, 21% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Marathon County would have about 104, against 132 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,226 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is Marathon County, WI growing?

Population estimates put Marathon County at 139,432 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 57,866 households. Median household income in Marathon County is $77,884, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.4%, 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. Marathon County scores 61 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #776 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Marathon 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 Marathon 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.