Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Minnesota

Grocery stores in the Alexandria, MN area

How the Alexandria, MN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 77 out of 100: High

Ranked #36 of 506 scored small-town markets
#3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota

Listings
10
4 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$106.7M
On groceries · $6,090 a household
Spending per listing
$10.7M
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.7
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
40,120
+2.6% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Alexandria 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 Alexandria area. 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

The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Alexandria area is 77 (high), #36 of 506 scored small-town markets and #3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for grocery stores.

As of September 2026, map listings count 10 grocery stores in the Alexandria area. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.7, 16% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Households in the Alexandria area spend about $106.7M a year on groceries, or $6,090 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Spread across 10 grocery stores, that is $10.7M per store, 15% 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 6 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Alexandria area in 2023. That is one for every 2,920 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Alexandria area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Alexandria area compares

The same measures for Minnesota 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 Alexandria, MN area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureAlexandria areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.75.96.8
Spending per listing$10.7M$10.8M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,9202,3132,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.6%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.6%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,090$6,414$6,319
Median household income$79,043$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score7764

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
286
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
104 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The 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 Alexandria 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 Alexandria area

Population, 2025 estimate
40,120+2.6% since 2020
Households
17,519
Median age
44.3
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
637 sq. mi.
People per square mile
62
Median household income
$79,043+23.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,237
Median home value
$321,400
Jobs located here
19,394
Daytime population
39,998Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Alexandria 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 Alexandria area. 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with the Alexandria area marked.

Top small-town markets in Minnesota

Small-town markets in Minnesota ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Faribault-Northfield, MN86125.1$12.2M+4.2%#13 of 506
2Winona, MN8284.0$14.9M+1.8%#21 of 506
3Alexandria, MN77105.7$10.7M+2.6%#36 of 506
4Detroit Lakes, MN6674.9$12.2M+0.9%#99 of 506
5Brainerd, MN61286.6$9M+4.3%#148 of 506
6Hutchinson, MN61138.5$7.1M−0.3%#153 of 506
7Willmar, MN57148.0$7.6M+2.3%#197 of 506
8Owatonna, MN56106.6$9.3M+0.2%#201 of 506
9Bemidji, MN51158.3$7.1M+1.8%#263 of 506
10Fergus Falls, MN49218.3$7.1M+1.6%#276 of 506

Other business types in the Alexandria area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Alexandria, MN area?

The Alexandria area has 10 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Alexandria, MN area spend on groceries?

About $106.7M a year, or $6,090 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $10.7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,519 households in the Alexandria area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Alexandria, MN area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Alexandria area has 5.7 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $10.7M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Alexandria area would have about 12, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,920 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is the Alexandria, MN area growing?

Population estimates put the Alexandria area at 40,120 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 17,519 households. Median household income in the Alexandria area is $79,043, 2% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.9%, 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 Alexandria area scores 77 for grocery stores (high), #36 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 Alexandria 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 Alexandria area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Alexandria 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 Alexandria 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.