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Home services · Small-town market · Michigan

HVAC and plumbing companies in the Alpena, MI area

How the Alpena, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for HVAC and plumbing companies: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #267 of 476 scored small-town markets
#11 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
7
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$30.3M
On home repairs, maintenance and insurance · $2,330 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.4
14% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
28,853
−0.1% since 2020

See the HVAC and plumbing companies around any address in the Alpena area

The site report maps the HVAC and plumbing companies 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 Alpena area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 7 HVAC and plumbing companies in the Alpena area. None of them are chain locations, against 4% across the U.S. That is 5.4 per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 6.3.

Household spending on home repairs, maintenance and insurance in the Alpena area comes to about $30.3M a year: $2,330 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4.3M per company, 9% below the U.S. figure of $4.8M. That spending covers all home repairs, maintenance and insurance, which HVAC and plumbing companies share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in the Alpena area was 9 in 2023. That is one for every 1,447 households, against one for every 1,162 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Alpena area declined 0.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for HVAC and plumbing companies in the Alpena area is 47 (lower middle), #267 of 476 scored small-town markets and #11 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.

How the Alpena area compares

The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all home repairs, maintenance and insurance by the HVAC and plumbing companies counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

HVAC and plumbing in Alpena, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureAlpena areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.45.36.3
Spending per listing$4.3M$5.2M$4.8M
Households per official establishment1,4471,5321,162
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+7.6%+7.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.1%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on home repairs, maintenance and insurance$2,330$2,711$3,018
Median household income$53,950$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4755

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9
Employees, 2023
64
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
70 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The 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 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in the Alpena 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 Alpena area

Population, 2025 estimate
28,853−0.1% since 2020
Households
13,019
Median age
47.4
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
572 sq. mi.
People per square mile
50
Median household income
$53,950+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,418
Median home value
$153,900
Jobs located here
11,363
Daytime population
29,194Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Alpena 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 HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings by name and distance.

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

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HVAC and plumbing across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for HVAC and plumbing companies, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Alpena area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for HVAC and plumbing companies by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Big Rapids, MI7374.2$5.7M+4.7%#35 of 476
2Houghton, MI7153.2$7.7M+1.8%#46 of 476
3Sturgis, MI7083.4$7.3M+0.1%#53 of 476
4Marquette, MI68134.6$5.4M+2.3%#65 of 476
5Cadillac, MI59126.1$4M+2.0%#154 of 476
6Owosso, MI57124.3$5.9M−0.4%#158 of 476
7Escanaba, MI5663.8$6.4M−0.8%#162 of 476
8Hillsdale, MI52105.6$4.5M0.0%#212 of 476
9Adrian, MI52266.7$3.9M−1.6%#213 of 476
10Alma, MI5096.1$4.1M−1.1%#239 of 476
11Alpena, MI4775.4$4.3M−0.1%#267 of 476

Other business types in the Alpena area

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

Questions

How many HVAC and plumbing companies are in the Alpena, MI area?

The Alpena area has 7 HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count heating and air-conditioning companies and plumbers. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in 2023.

How much do households in the Alpena, MI area spend on home repairs, maintenance and insurance?

About $30.3M a year, or $2,330 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings, it comes to $4.3M per company. The spending figure covers all home repairs, maintenance and insurance, not only HVAC and plumbing companies. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,019 households in the Alpena area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Alpena, MI area compare with the U.S. for HVAC and plumbing companies?

The Alpena area has 5.4 HVAC and plumbing companies per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 6.3. Spending per company is $4.3M, 9% below the U.S. figure of $4.8M. At the national ratio of HVAC and plumbing companies to household spending, the Alpena area would have about 6, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,447 households, against one for every 1,162 across the U.S.

How fast is the Alpena, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Alpena area at 28,853 people in 2025, down 0.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,019 households. The median household income in the Alpena area is $53,950 a year, 33% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.4% 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 Alpena area scores 47 for HVAC and plumbing companies (lower middle), #267 of 476 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Alpena area. It maps the HVAC and plumbing companies 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 HVAC and plumbing companies · All 56 business types in the Alpena area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Alpena 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 Alpena 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.