Real estate · Metro area · Michigan
Real estate businesses in the Traverse City, MI metro area
How the Traverse City, MI metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #383 of 387 scored metro areas
#14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan
- Listings
- 331
- 32 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 159
- +17.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $941.5M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,390 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 66
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 50.6
- 31% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 156,972
- +2.2% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City metro 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
For real estate businesses, the Traverse City metro area has a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle): #383 of 387 scored metro areas and #14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 331 real estate businesses in the Traverse City metro area. 32 of them (10%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That is 50.6 per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Traverse City metro area comes to about $941.5M a year: $14,390 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 34% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Traverse City metro area was 159 in 2023, up 17.6% from 2019. That is one for every 412 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $2M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Traverse City metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Traverse City metro area grew 2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Traverse City 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.
| Measure | Traverse City metro area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 50.6 | 31.2 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 66 | 104 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 412 | 728 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +17.6% | +11.2% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,390 | $13,996 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $80,889 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 47 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 159+17.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 405
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $26.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 991Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 33132 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 217The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 156,972+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 65,429
- Median age
- 46.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,691 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 92
- Median household income
- $80,889+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $106,351
- Median home value
- $324,300
- Jobs located here
- 61,451
- Daytime population
- 155,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City metro 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 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 Traverse City metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Monroe, MI | 68 | 128 | 20.3 | 161 | +0.7% | #46 of 387 |
| 2Bay City, MI | 60 | 72 | 16.0 | 187 | −1.6% | #89 of 387 |
| 3Battle Creek, MI | 60 | 93 | 17.4 | 174 | −0.6% | #90 of 387 |
| 4Saginaw, MI | 54 | 173 | 22.2 | 136 | −1.1% | #142 of 387 |
| 5Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI | 54 | 166 | 24.5 | 123 | +1.8% | #144 of 387 |
| 6Midland, MI | 54 | 105 | 30.0 | 111 | +0.3% | #147 of 387 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | 51 | 304 | 23.7 | 132 | +0.1% | #171 of 387 |
| 7Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 49 | 524 | 27.0 | 118 | +1.4% | #189 of 387 |
| 8Jackson, MI | 48 | 165 | 26.4 | 118 | −0.4% | #196 of 387 |
| 9Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 44 | 337 | 31.5 | 103 | +0.8% | #242 of 387 |
| 14Traverse City, MI | 25 | 331 | 50.6 | 66 | +2.2% | #383 of 387 |
Other business types in the Traverse City metro 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 Traverse City, MI metro area?
The Traverse City metro area has 331 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 32 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 159 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 17.6% from 2019. Official counts list 991 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Traverse City, MI metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $941.5M a year, or $14,390 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 331 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 34% 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 65,429 households in the Traverse City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Traverse City, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Traverse City metro area has 50.6 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 66, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Traverse City metro area would have about 217, against 331 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 412 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 17.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the Traverse City, MI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Traverse City metro area at 156,972 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 65,429 households. The median household income in the Traverse City metro area is $80,889 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.6% 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 Traverse City metro area scores 25 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #383 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 Traverse City 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 Traverse City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City 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.