Real estate · Small-town market · Michigan
Real estate businesses in the Big Rapids, MI area
The real estate businesses in the Big Rapids, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #479 of 536 scored small-town markets
#15 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 58
- 2 chain locations (3%)
- Official establishments
- 18
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $211.2M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $12,641 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 84
- 16% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 34.7
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,320
- +4.7% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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
The Big Rapids area scores 33 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #479 of 536 scored small-town markets and #15 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 58 real estate businesses in the Big Rapids area. 2 of them (3%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That is 34.7 per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Households in the Big Rapids area spend about $211.2M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $12,641 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 16% below 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 18 businesses with payroll in the Big Rapids area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors. That is one for every 928 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Big Rapids area grew 4.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Big Rapids 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.
| Measure | Big Rapids area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 34.7 | 31.2 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 84 | 104 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 928 | 728 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.2% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.7% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $12,641 | $13,996 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $60,951 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 33 | 47 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 18
- Employees, 2023
- 33
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 126Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 582 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 49The 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 real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,320+4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 16,708
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 555 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 74
- Median household income
- $60,951+35.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,230
- Median home value
- $178,900
- Jobs located here
- 11,143
- Daytime population
- 38,247Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Big Rapids 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 real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Big Rapids area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets 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 Big Rapids area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 60 | 92 | 20.2 | 165 | +2.1% | #137 of 536 |
| 2Houghton, MI | 59 | 22 | 14.2 | 211 | +1.8% | #141 of 536 |
| 3Owosso, MI | 59 | 44 | 15.6 | 195 | −0.4% | #142 of 536 |
| 4Iron Mountain, MI-WI | 57 | 20 | 14.2 | 212 | +0.4% | #163 of 536 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 56 | 47 | 16.0 | 185 | +0.3% | #178 of 536 |
| 5Sturgis, MI | 55 | 40 | 16.9 | 178 | +0.1% | #195 of 536 |
| 6Hillsdale, MI | 51 | 32 | 17.9 | 168 | 0.0% | #251 of 536 |
| 7Alpena, MI | 49 | 25 | 19.2 | 149 | −0.1% | #282 of 536 |
| 8Alma, MI | 48 | 27 | 18.3 | 164 | −1.1% | #291 of 536 |
| 9Sault Ste. Marie, MI | 42 | 26 | 18.5 | 159 | −1.9% | #359 of 536 |
| 15Big Rapids, MI | 33 | 58 | 34.7 | 84 | +4.7% | #479 of 536 |
Other business types in the Big Rapids area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Big Rapids, MI area?
There are 58 real estate businesses on map listings in the Big Rapids area as of September 2026. 2 of them (3%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts list 126 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Big Rapids, MI area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $211.2M a year, or $12,641 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 58 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 16% below 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 16,708 households in the Big Rapids area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Big Rapids, MI area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Big Rapids area has 34.7 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 84, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Big Rapids area would have about 49, against 58 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 928 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.
How fast is the Big Rapids, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Big Rapids area at 42,320 people in 2025, up 4.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,708 households. The median household income in the Big Rapids area is $60,951 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.4% 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 Big Rapids area scores 33 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #479 of 536 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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.