Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Michigan

Grocery stores in St. Joseph County, MI

How St. Joseph County, MI compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,077 of 2,070 scored counties
#30 of 73 scored counties in Michigan

Listings
14
4 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$135M
On groceries · $5,715 a household
Spending per listing
$9.6M
4% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
60,968
+0.1% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in St. Joseph County

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 St. Joseph 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 grocery stores in St. Joseph County. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 5.9 for every 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $5,715 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in St. Joseph County spend about $135M a year on groceries. That is about $9.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 4% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in St. Joseph County in 2023. That is one for every 2,147 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $140K has gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in St. Joseph County.

Population estimates put the population change in St. Joseph County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in St. Joseph County is 48 (lower middle), #1,077 of 2,070 scored counties and #30 of 73 scored counties in Michigan.

How St. Joseph County 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.

Grocery stores in St. Joseph County, MI compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Joseph CountyMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.96.46.8
Spending per listing$9.6M$9.3M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,1472,4192,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.4%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,715$6,009$6,319
Median household income$66,425$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4843

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13 → 11
Employees, 2023
233
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
144 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$140K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph County

Population, 2025 estimate
60,968+0.1% since 2020
Households
23,620
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
501 sq. mi.
People per square mile
122
Median household income
$66,425+27.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,433
Median home value
$178,300
Jobs located here
19,267
Daytime population
52,362Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in St. Joseph 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of St. Joseph County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery stores across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Michigan for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Michigan, with St. Joseph County marked.

Top counties in Michigan

Counties in Michigan ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Livingston County, MI86222.9$23.4M+1.7%#90 of 2,070
2Clinton County, MI82154.7$13.4M+1.6%#156 of 2,070
3Ottawa County, MI77625.6$11.5M+3.9%#253 of 2,070
4Macomb County, MI751444.0$15.2M+0.7%#288 of 2,070
5Monroe County, MI74254.0$15.4M+0.7%#309 of 2,070
6Eaton County, MI74214.6$13.2M+0.4%#313 of 2,070
7Cass County, MI71104.7$12.6M+0.2%#372 of 2,070
8Oakland County, MI692975.6$11.9M+1.2%#432 of 2,070
9Jackson County, MI68274.3$13.5M−0.4%#450 of 2,070
10Barry County, MI67156.1$9.9M+2.2%#485 of 2,070
30St. Joseph County, MI48145.9$9.6M+0.1%#1,077 of 2,070

Other business types in St. Joseph County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in St. Joseph County, MI?

There are 14 grocery stores on map listings in St. Joseph County as of September 2026. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in St. Joseph County, MI spend on groceries?

About $135M a year, or $5,715 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $9.6M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,620 households in St. Joseph County and national spending patterns by income.

How does St. Joseph County, MI compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

St. Joseph County has 5.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $9.6M, 4% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, St. Joseph County would have about 15, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,147 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is St. Joseph County, MI growing?

Population estimates put St. Joseph County at 60,968 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,620 households. Median household income in St. Joseph County is $66,425, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 27.5%, 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. St. Joseph County scores 48 for grocery stores (lower middle), #1,077 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in St. Joseph County. 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 St. Joseph County

Screening a site or an acquisition in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph 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.