Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Wisconsin

Grocery and convenience stores in the Sparta, WI area

The grocery and convenience stores in the Sparta, WI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #402 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin

Listings
63
18 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$107.2M
On groceries · $5,858 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
50% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
34.4
84% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
46,572
+0.6% since 2020

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

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Survey 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 Sparta area comes to about $107.2M a year: $5,858 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 63 grocery and convenience stores, that is $1.7M per store, 50% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

There are 63 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Sparta area as of September 2026. Of those, 18 are chain locations, or 29%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 34.4 per 10,000 households, 84% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Sparta area was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 1,525 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in the Sparta area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Sparta area scores 38 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #402 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin.

How the Sparta 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Sparta, WI area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureSparta areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households34.420.018.7
Spending per listing$1.7M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,5252,1811,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.0%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.6%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,858$6,105$6,319
Median household income$69,467$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score3852

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
169
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6318 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
32The 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 Sparta 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 Sparta area

Population, 2025 estimate
46,572+0.6% since 2020
Households
18,301
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
901 sq. mi.
People per square mile
51
Median household income
$69,467
Average household income
$87,535
Median home value
$210,000
Jobs located here
19,806
Daytime population
44,513Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Sparta area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Sparta area. 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 small-town markets 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 Sparta area marked.

Top small-town markets in Wisconsin

Small-town markets in Wisconsin ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI786618.9$3.3M+0.3%#26 of 538
2Stevens Point-Plover, WI756722.6$2.7M+2.2%#43 of 538
3Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI748920.7$3M+0.8%#47 of 538
4Manitowoc, WI736819.3$3M+0.4%#51 of 538
5Menomonie, WI694425.2$2.4M+1.7%#94 of 538
6Beaver Dam, WI677922.0$2.7M−0.3%#110 of 538
7Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI607523.3$2.5M−0.2%#179 of 538
8Baraboo, WI547928.2$2.2M+1.3%#252 of 538
Iron Mountain, MI-WI493625.5$2.2M+0.4%#296 of 538
9Shawano, WI484926.3$2.2M+1.4%#307 of 538
12Sparta, WI386334.4$1.7M+0.6%#402 of 538

Other business types in the Sparta area

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Sparta, WI area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 63 grocery and convenience stores in the Sparta area. 18 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Sparta, WI area spend on groceries?

About $107.2M a year, or $5,858 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,301 households in the Sparta area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Sparta area has 34.4 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 84% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.7M, 50% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Sparta area would have about 32, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,525 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is the Sparta, WI area growing?

Population estimates put the Sparta area at 46,572 people in 2025, up 0.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,301 households. The median household income in the Sparta area is $69,467 a year, 14% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Sparta area scores 38 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #402 of 538 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Sparta 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 Sparta area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sparta 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 Sparta 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.