Groundwork

Real estate · County · Michigan

Real estate businesses in Grand Traverse County, MI

How Grand Traverse County, MI compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 24 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,190 of 2,229 scored counties
#72 of 75 scored counties in Michigan

Listings
261
20 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
111
+9.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$581.5M
On rent and homeowner costs · $14,433 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
51
49% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
64.8
68% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
96,729
+1.4% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Grand Traverse County

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 Grand Traverse 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

For real estate businesses, Grand Traverse County has a Groundwork market score of 24 (low): #2,190 of 2,229 scored counties and #72 of 75 scored counties in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Grand Traverse County comes to about $581.5M a year: $14,433 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 49% 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.

Grand Traverse County has 261 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 20 are chain locations, or 8%, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 64.8, 68% above 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 Grand Traverse County was 111 in 2023, up 9.9% from 2019. That is one for every 363 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.8M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Grand Traverse County. Population estimates show Grand Traverse County grew 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Grand Traverse County 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 Grand Traverse County, MI compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureGrand Traverse CountyMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households64.831.238.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)51104100
Households per official establishment363728414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.9%+11.2%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.4%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$14,433$13,996$16,661
Median household income$81,647$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score2447

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
101 → 111+9.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
333
Annual payroll, 2023
$22.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
630Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
26120 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
134The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Grand Traverse 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 Grand Traverse County

Population, 2025 estimate
96,729+1.4% since 2020
Households
40,287
Median age
44.3
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
464 sq. mi.
People per square mile
207
Median household income
$81,647+28.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$105,300
Median home value
$339,400
Jobs located here
46,591
Daytime population
102,841Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Grand Traverse 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 real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Real estate across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Michigan for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Michigan, with Grand Traverse County marked.

Top counties in Michigan

Counties in Michigan ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Barry County, MI683213.1249+2.2%#270 of 2,229
2Arenac County, MI6557.6379+0.5%#362 of 2,229
3Alcona County, MI65611.3254+3.7%#370 of 2,229
4Montcalm County, MI643514.3210+4.1%#411 of 2,229
5Newaygo County, MI632512.7236+3.1%#443 of 2,229
6Tuscola County, MI582712.6235−1.2%#649 of 2,229
7Presque Isle County, MI571015.0195+1.0%#712 of 2,229
8Ionia County, MI573816.3192−0.5%#714 of 2,229
9Osceola County, MI571617.1171+2.7%#720 of 2,229
10Allegan County, MI579220.2165+2.1%#726 of 2,229
72Grand Traverse County, MI2426164.851+1.4%#2,190 of 2,229

Other business types in Grand Traverse County

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

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Grand Traverse County, MI?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 261 real estate businesses in Grand Traverse County. 20 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 111 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 9.9% from 2019. Another 630 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Grand Traverse County, MI spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $581.5M a year, or $14,433 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 261 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 49% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 40,287 households in Grand Traverse County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Grand Traverse County, MI compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Grand Traverse County has 64.8 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 68% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 51, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Grand Traverse County would have about 134, against 261 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 363 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Grand Traverse County, MI growing?

Population estimates put Grand Traverse County at 96,729 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 40,287 households. Median household income in Grand Traverse County is $81,647, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.4%, 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. Grand Traverse County scores 24 for real estate businesses (low), #2,190 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Grand Traverse County. 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 Grand Traverse County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Grand Traverse 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 Grand Traverse 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.