Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Michigan
Grocery stores in the Traverse City, MI metro area
How the Traverse City, MI metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 26 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #341 of 387 scored metro areas
#14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan
- Listings
- 67
- 24 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 41
- −4.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $404M
- On groceries · $6,175 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6M
- 35% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.2
- 50% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 156,972
- +2.2% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Traverse City metro 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 Traverse City 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
For grocery stores, the Traverse City metro area has a Groundwork market score of 26 (lower middle): #341 of 387 scored metro areas and #14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on groceries in the Traverse City metro area comes to about $404M a year: $6,175 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That works out to $6M per store, 35% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
There are 67 grocery stores on map listings in the Traverse City metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 24 are chain locations, or 36%, against 37% across the U.S. That is 10.2 per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Traverse City metro area was 41 in 2023, down 4.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,596 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $50K has gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Traverse City metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Traverse City metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Traverse City metro 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 | Traverse City metro area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.2 | 6.4 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $6M | $9.3M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,596 | 2,419 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −4.6% | −2.4% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,175 | $6,009 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $80,889 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 26 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 41−4.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,457
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $40M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6724 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 44The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $50K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 156,972+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 65,429
- Median age
- 46.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,691 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 92
- Median household income
- $80,889+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $106,351
- Median home value
- $324,300
- Jobs located here
- 61,451
- Daytime population
- 155,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Traverse City 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Traverse City metro 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 metro areas in Michigan for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Traverse City metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Monroe, MI | 71 | 25 | 4.0 | $15.4M | +0.7% | #50 of 387 |
| 2Jackson, MI | 63 | 27 | 4.3 | $13.5M | −0.4% | #93 of 387 |
| 3Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 62 | 104 | 5.4 | $11.1M | +1.4% | #106 of 387 |
| 4Ann Arbor, MI | 58 | 76 | 5.0 | $12.8M | −0.4% | #135 of 387 |
| 5Midland, MI | 55 | 22 | 6.3 | $9.8M | +0.3% | #165 of 387 |
| 6Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 53 | 51 | 4.8 | $12.6M | +0.8% | #179 of 387 |
| 7Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 51 | 1,002 | 5.7 | $10.8M | +0.1% | #196 of 387 |
| 8Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI | 49 | 41 | 6.1 | $9.4M | +1.8% | #209 of 387 |
| 9Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 48 | 309 | 7.0 | $8.9M | +2.8% | #213 of 387 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | 47 | 66 | 5.1 | $11.4M | +0.1% | #215 of 387 |
| 14Traverse City, MI | 26 | 67 | 10.2 | $6M | +2.2% | #341 of 387 |
Other business types in the Traverse City 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 stores31
- Grocery stores26
- Convenience stores49
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 Traverse City, MI metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 67 grocery stores in the Traverse City metro area. 24 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 41 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, down 4.6% from 2019.
How much do households in the Traverse City, MI metro area spend on groceries?
About $404M a year, or $6,175 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 67 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $6M 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 65,429 households in the Traverse City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Traverse City, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Traverse City metro area has 10.2 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $6M, 35% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Traverse City metro area would have about 44, against 67 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,596 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.6% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Traverse City, MI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Traverse City metro area at 156,972 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 65,429 households. The median household income in the Traverse City metro area is $80,889 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.6% 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. 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 Traverse City metro area scores 26 for grocery stores (lower middle), #341 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 Traverse City metro 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 Traverse City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City 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.