Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Montana

Grocery stores in Pondera County, MT

The grocery stores in Pondera County, MT, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
5
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$12.2M
On groceries · $5,387 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
74% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.0
3.2 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,072
+3.2% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Pondera 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 Pondera 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

Households in Pondera County spend about $12.2M a year on groceries, or $5,387 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 74% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

Pondera County has 5 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 22.0 for every 10,000 households, 3.2 times the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Pondera County in 2023. That is one for every 756 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Pondera County grew 3.2%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Pondera County compares

The same measures for Montana 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 Pondera County, MT compared with Montana and the U.S.
MeasurePondera CountyMontanaU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.07.66.8
Spending per listing$2.4M$7.8M$9.3M
Households per official establishment7561,7652,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.6%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,387$5,881$6,319
Median household income$52,338$72,509$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored26

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 3
Employees, 2023
35
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
50 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1The 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 Pondera 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 Pondera County

Population, 2025 estimate
6,072+3.2% since 2020
Households
2,268
Median age
42.0
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
1,625 sq. mi.
People per square mile
4
Median household income
$52,338
Average household income
$72,767
Median home value
$206,100
Jobs located here
1,539
Daytime population
5,599Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Pondera 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 Pondera County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery stores across Montana

Every Montana market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Montana for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Montana, with Pondera County marked.

Top counties in Montana

Counties in Montana ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yellowstone County, MT83284.0$15M+4.5%#132 of 2,070
2Missoula County, MT68315.9$10.1M+4.4%#461 of 2,070
3Lewis and Clark County, MT66154.8$12.6M+5.8%#501 of 2,070
4Cascade County, MT64164.5$12.7M+0.7%#560 of 2,070
5Flathead County, MT62255.7$10.5M+10.1%#619 of 2,070
6Gallatin County, MT61367.0$9.1M+7.7%#660 of 2,070
7Silver Bow County, MT5863.9$14.1M+2.6%#737 of 2,070
8Lake County, MT40108.0$7.1M+6.9%#1,355 of 2,070
9Ravalli County, MT40189.6$6M+9.4%#1,367 of 2,070
10Carbon County, MT38715.0$4M+9.1%#1,445 of 2,070
Pondera County, MTNot scored522.0$2.4M+3.2%

Other business types in Pondera County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Pondera County, MT?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 grocery stores in Pondera County. None of them are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in Pondera County, MT spend on groceries?

About $12.2M a year, or $5,387 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $2.4M 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 2,268 households in Pondera County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Pondera County, MT compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Pondera County has 22.0 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 3.2 times the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $2.4M, 74% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Pondera County would have about 1, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 756 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is Pondera County, MT growing?

Population estimates put Pondera County at 6,072 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,268 households. The median household income in Pondera County is $52,338 a year, 35% 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. 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Pondera 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 Pondera County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Pondera 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 Pondera 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.