Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Michigan
Grocery stores in the Alma, MI area
The grocery stores in the Alma, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #119 of 506 scored small-town markets
#6 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 7
- 1 chain location (14%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $83.8M
- On groceries · $5,673 a household
- Spending per listing
- $12M
- 29% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.7
- 31% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 41,190
- −1.1% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Alma area
The site report maps the grocery 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 Alma 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
Households in the Alma area spend about $83.8M a year on groceries, or $5,673 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That is about $12M of household spending for each store on map listings, 29% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
The Alma area has 7 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (14%) is a chain location, against 37% across the U.S. That is 4.7 per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Alma area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 2,955 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Alma area declined 1.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For grocery stores, the Alma area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #119 of 506 scored small-town markets and #6 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Alma area compares
The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all groceries by the grocery 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 | Alma area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.7 | 6.4 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $12M | $9.3M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,955 | 2,419 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −2.4% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.1% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,673 | $6,009 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $63,556 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 38
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $924K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 71 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 9The 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 supermarkets and grocery stores in the Alma 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 Alma area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 41,190−1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 14,775
- Median age
- 40.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 568 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 73
- Median household income
- $63,556+32.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,011
- Median home value
- $147,500
- Jobs located here
- 12,772
- Daytime population
- 39,987Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Alma 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Alma area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery stores across Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Alma area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Coldwater, MI | 68 | 11 | 6.5 | $8.7M | +2.5% | #90 of 506 |
| 2Holland, MI | 67 | 34 | 7.5 | $8.3M | +2.1% | #96 of 506 |
| 3Owosso, MI | 66 | 15 | 5.3 | $10.9M | −0.4% | #103 of 506 |
| 4Adrian, MI | 66 | 23 | 5.9 | $9.9M | −1.6% | #106 of 506 |
| 5Hillsdale, MI | 64 | 9 | 5.0 | $11.3M | 0.0% | #111 of 506 |
| 6Alma, MI | 63 | 7 | 4.7 | $12M | −1.1% | #119 of 506 |
| 7Mount Pleasant, MI | 62 | 8 | 3.2 | $17.1M | +0.3% | #129 of 506 |
| 8Big Rapids, MI | 57 | 12 | 7.2 | $7.7M | +4.7% | #195 of 506 |
| 9Sturgis, MI | 53 | 14 | 5.9 | $9.6M | +0.1% | #242 of 506 |
| 10Marquette, MI | 51 | 25 | 8.8 | $6.5M | +2.3% | #264 of 506 |
Other business types in the Alma area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores56
- Grocery stores63
- Convenience stores47
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 stores are in the Alma, MI area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 7 grocery stores in the Alma area. One of them (14%) is a chain location. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Alma, MI area spend on groceries?
About $83.8M a year, or $5,673 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $12M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,775 households in the Alma area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Alma, MI area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Alma area has 4.7 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $12M, 29% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Alma area would have about 9, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,955 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
How fast is the Alma, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Alma area at 41,190 people in 2025, down 1.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,775 households. The median household income in the Alma area is $63,556 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.8% 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. 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 Alma area scores 63 for grocery stores (upper middle), #119 of 506 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Alma area. It maps the grocery 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 stores · All 56 business types in the Alma area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Alma 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 Alma 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.