Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Michigan

Real estate businesses in the Battle Creek, MI metro area

The real estate businesses in the Battle Creek, MI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #90 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan

Listings
93
15 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
37
+48.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$699.7M
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,119 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
174
74% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.4
55% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
133,408
−0.6% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Battle Creek metro area

The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 Battle Creek metro 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 93 real estate businesses in the Battle Creek metro area. 15 of them (16%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.4, 55% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

At $13,119 per household (21% below the U.S. average), households in the Battle Creek metro area spend about $699.7M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 74% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.

Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Battle Creek metro area in 2023, up 48.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,441 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 267 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $80K has gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Battle Creek metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Battle Creek metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Battle Creek metro area is 60 (upper middle), #90 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Battle Creek metro area compares

The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Battle Creek, MI metro area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureBattle Creek metro areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.431.238.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)174104100
Households per official establishment1,441728414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+48.0%+11.2%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,119$13,996$16,661
Median household income$63,177$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score6047

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
37+48.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
184
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
267Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9315 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
162The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$80K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Battle Creek 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 Battle Creek metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
133,408−0.6% since 2020
Households
53,333
Median age
40.7
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
706 sq. mi.
People per square mile
189
Median household income
$63,177+30.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,388
Median home value
$162,800
Jobs located here
51,778
Daytime population
134,519Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Battle Creek 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 real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Real estate across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Michigan for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Battle Creek metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Michigan

Metro areas in Michigan ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Monroe, MI6812820.3161+0.7%#46 of 387
2Bay City, MI607216.0187−1.6%#89 of 387
3Battle Creek, MI609317.4174−0.6%#90 of 387
4Saginaw, MI5417322.2136−1.1%#142 of 387
5Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI5416624.5123+1.8%#144 of 387
6Midland, MI5410530.0111+0.3%#147 of 387
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI5130423.7132+0.1%#171 of 387
7Lansing-East Lansing, MI4952427.0118+1.4%#189 of 387
8Jackson, MI4816526.4118−0.4%#196 of 387
9Kalamazoo-Portage, MI4433731.5103+0.8%#242 of 387

Other business types in the Battle Creek metro area

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

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Battle Creek, MI metro area?

The Battle Creek metro area has 93 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 15 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 48.0% from 2019. Official counts list 267 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Battle Creek, MI metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $699.7M a year, or $13,119 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 93 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 74% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 53,333 households in the Battle Creek metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Battle Creek, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Battle Creek metro area has 17.4 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 55% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 174, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Battle Creek metro area would have about 162, against 93 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,441 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 48.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Battle Creek, MI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Battle Creek metro area at 133,408 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 53,333 households. The median household income in the Battle Creek metro area is $63,177 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 30.0% 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 Battle Creek metro area scores 60 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #90 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 Battle Creek metro area. It maps the real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Battle Creek metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Battle Creek 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 Battle Creek 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.