Groundwork

Real estate · Small-town market · Michigan

Real estate businesses in the Coldwater, MI area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the Coldwater, MI area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #364 of 536 scored small-town markets
#11 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
35
4 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
19
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$219M
On rent and homeowner costs · $12,951 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
144
44% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
20.7
46% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
45,993
+2.5% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Coldwater 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 Coldwater 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

Households in the Coldwater area spend about $219M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $12,951 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 44% 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.

The Coldwater area has 35 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 11%, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 20.7 for every 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Coldwater area was 19 in 2023. That is one for every 890 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 115 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Coldwater area grew 2.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For real estate businesses, the Coldwater area has a Groundwork market score of 42 (lower middle): #364 of 536 scored small-town markets and #11 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.

How the Coldwater 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 Coldwater, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureColdwater areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households20.731.238.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)144104100
Households per official establishment890728414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+11.2%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.5%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$12,951$13,996$16,661
Median household income$63,724$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4247

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19
Employees, 2023
37
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
115Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
354 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
51The 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 Coldwater 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 Coldwater area

Population, 2025 estimate
45,993+2.5% since 2020
Households
16,906
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
506 sq. mi.
People per square mile
89
Median household income
$63,724+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,966
Median home value
$162,500
Jobs located here
14,063
Daytime population
41,389Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Coldwater 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 Coldwater 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 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 Coldwater area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Holland, MI609220.2165+2.1%#137 of 536
2Houghton, MI592214.2211+1.8%#141 of 536
3Owosso, MI594415.6195−0.4%#142 of 536
4Iron Mountain, MI-WI572014.2212+0.4%#163 of 536
Marinette, WI-MI564716.0185+0.3%#178 of 536
5Sturgis, MI554016.9178+0.1%#195 of 536
6Hillsdale, MI513217.91680.0%#251 of 536
7Alpena, MI492519.2149−0.1%#282 of 536
8Alma, MI482718.3164−1.1%#291 of 536
9Sault Ste. Marie, MI422618.5159−1.9%#359 of 536
11Coldwater, MI423520.7144+2.5%#364 of 536

Other business types in the Coldwater area

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

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Coldwater, MI area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 35 real estate businesses in the Coldwater area. 4 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts list 115 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $219M a year, or $12,951 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 35 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 44% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,906 households in the Coldwater area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Coldwater area has 20.7 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 144, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Coldwater area would have about 51, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 890 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.

How fast is the Coldwater, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Coldwater area at 45,993 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,906 households. Median household income in the Coldwater area is $63,724, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.7%, 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 Coldwater area scores 42 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #364 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 Coldwater 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 Coldwater area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Coldwater 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 Coldwater 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.