Groundwork

Auto · Small-town market · Michigan

Tire shops in the Houghton, MI area

How the Houghton, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for tire shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #88 of 431 scored small-town markets
#5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
5
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$15.8M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,021 a household
Spending per listing
$3.2M
26% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.2
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
40,028
+1.8% since 2020

See the tire shops around any address in the Houghton area

The site report maps the tire shops 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 Houghton 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 5 tire shops in the Houghton area. None of them are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. That is 3.2 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Households in the Houghton area spend about $15.8M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,021 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. That is about $3.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 26% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which tire shops share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as tire dealers in the Houghton area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 5,147 households, against one for every 6,381 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $75K has gone to businesses classed as tire dealers in the Houghton area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Houghton area grew 1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Houghton area scores 69 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for tire shops, ranking #88 of 431 scored small-town markets and #5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Houghton area compares

The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the tire shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Tire shops in Houghton, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureHoughton areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.23.03.8
Spending per listing$3.2M$3.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishment5,1477,6056,381
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.3%−0.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$1,021$1,022$958
Median household income$58,128$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score6963

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
21
Annual payroll, 2023
$954K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
50 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$75K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as tire dealers in the Houghton 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 Houghton area

Population, 2025 estimate
40,028+1.8% since 2020
Households
15,440
Median age
37.5
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,549 sq. mi.
People per square mile
26
Median household income
$58,128+31.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,984
Median home value
$160,800
Jobs located here
12,154
Daytime population
38,592Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Houghton 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 tire shops on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Tire shops across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for tire shops, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Houghton area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for tire shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Holland, MI89112.4$5M+2.1%#4 of 431
Marinette, WI-MI7893.1$3.5M+0.3%#29 of 431
2Marquette, MI7793.2$3.2M+2.3%#37 of 431
3Owosso, MI7582.8$3.9M−0.4%#51 of 431
4Sturgis, MI7352.1$5M+0.1%#60 of 431
5Houghton, MI6953.2$3.2M+1.8%#88 of 431
6Cadillac, MI6694.6$2.3M+2.0%#109 of 431
7Hillsdale, MI6473.9$2.8M0.0%#120 of 431
8Coldwater, MI6184.7$2.2M+2.5%#141 of 431
9Adrian, MI53205.1$2.1M−1.6%#196 of 431

Other business types in the Houghton area

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

Questions

How many tire shops are in the Houghton, MI area?

The Houghton area has 5 tire shops on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count tire shops and tire dealers. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as tire dealers in 2023.

How much do households in the Houghton, MI area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $15.8M a year, or $1,021 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 tire shops on map listings, it comes to $3.2M per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only tire shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,440 households in the Houghton area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Houghton, MI area compare with the U.S. for tire shops?

The Houghton area has 3.2 tire shops per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per shop is $3.2M, 26% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of tire shops to household spending, the Houghton area would have about 6, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,147 households, against one for every 6,381 across the U.S.

How fast is the Houghton, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Houghton area at 40,028 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,440 households. Median household income in the Houghton area is $58,128, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.5%, 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 Houghton area scores 69 for tire shops (upper middle), #88 of 431 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Houghton area. It maps the tire shops 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 tire shops · All 56 business types in the Houghton area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Houghton 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 Houghton 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.