Market rankings · Groceries and convenience
Top markets for convenience stores
Every U.S. metro area, small-town market and county, ranked by the Groundwork market score for convenience stores. The score weighs household spending per store, households per business, population growth and spending power.
- Listings in the U.S.
- 103,637
- 62,240 chain locations (60%)
- Official establishments
- 36,992
- +22.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $816.5B
- On groceries
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.0
- Spending per listing: $7.9M
A site report maps the convenience stores on map listings around the address by name and distance, and the spending within reach.
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
As of September 2026, map listings count 103,637 convenience stores in the U.S. Of those, 62,240 are chain locations, or 60%. That is 8.0 per 10,000 households.
Households in the U.S. spend about $816.5B a year on groceries, or $6,319 per household. That works out to $7.9M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 36,992 businesses with payroll in the U.S. classed as convenience stores, up 22.0% from 2019. They employ 166,083 people, with $4B in annual payroll.
The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area has the highest market score for convenience stores among 387 scored metro areas, at 91. In the 10 highest-scoring metro areas, the median spending per store is 41% above the U.S. figure, and the median rate of listings per household is 28% below the U.S. rate.
Top markets
These tables (CSV)Ranked by the Groundwork market score, which weighs household spending per competitor, households per business with payroll, population growth and spending power against every other market of the same kind. How the score works.
Top metro areas of 1 million people or more
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 86 | 372 | 4.4 | $14.1M | +5.4% |
| 8Raleigh-Cary, NC | 84 | 376 | 6.5 | $10.2M | +12.6% |
| 9Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 83 | 870 | 5.9 | $11.3M | +2.6% |
| 11Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 82 | 1,112 | 5.9 | $10.7M | +7.3% |
| 14Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 81 | 771 | 6.3 | $10.6M | +4.1% |
| 20Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 79 | 825 | 5.1 | $13.4M | +3.3% |
| 23Kansas City, MO-KS | 79 | 520 | 5.8 | $10.8M | +3.4% |
| 32Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 76 | 245 | 5.6 | $11.2M | +2.8% |
| 40San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 74 | 313 | 4.6 | $16.3M | −0.6% |
| 43Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 74 | 722 | 7.3 | $9.2M | +14.0% |
| 44Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 73 | 305 | 4.6 | $13.2M | 0.0% |
| 49San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 72 | 804 | 4.6 | $15.6M | −2.4% |
| 50Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 72 | 1,638 | 4.5 | $14.4M | 0.0% |
| 51Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 72 | 1,315 | 5.5 | $13M | +3.3% |
| 52Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 72 | 264 | 5.7 | $12.7M | +3.0% |
Top 50 metro areas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | 91 | 98 | 4.5 | $13.7M | +13.1% |
| 2Greeley, CO | 87 | 82 | 6.6 | $9.7M | +14.2% |
| 3Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT | 87 | 141 | 6.8 | $9.6M | +14.5% |
| 4Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 86 | 372 | 4.4 | $14.1M | +5.4% |
| 5Fargo, ND-MN | 85 | 62 | 5.6 | $10.8M | +7.7% |
| 6Anchorage, AK | 84 | 58 | 3.9 | $16.7M | +1.9% |
| 7Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | 84 | 85 | 5.5 | $11.6M | +4.8% |
| 8Raleigh-Cary, NC | 84 | 376 | 6.5 | $10.2M | +12.6% |
| 9Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 83 | 870 | 5.9 | $11.3M | +2.6% |
| 10Madison, WI | 83 | 198 | 6.6 | $9.8M | +4.1% |
| 11Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 82 | 1,112 | 5.9 | $10.7M | +7.3% |
| 12St. George, UT | 82 | 41 | 5.9 | $10.4M | +17.4% |
| 13Huntsville, AL | 82 | 143 | 6.9 | $9.1M | +12.5% |
| 14Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 81 | 771 | 6.3 | $10.6M | +4.1% |
| 15Omaha, NE-IA | 81 | 239 | 6.1 | $10.3M | +4.2% |
| 16Chambersburg, PA | 80 | 40 | 6.3 | $10.6M | +3.0% |
| 17Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 80 | 219 | 7.4 | $8.6M | +6.7% |
| 18Bozeman, MT | 80 | 39 | 7.6 | $8.4M | +7.7% |
| 19Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 79 | 52 | 4.8 | $13.8M | +2.7% |
| 20Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 79 | 825 | 5.1 | $13.4M | +3.3% |
| 21Iowa City, IA | 79 | 34 | 4.7 | $13M | +4.1% |
| 22Lincoln, NE | 79 | 75 | 5.3 | $11.3M | +3.3% |
| 23Kansas City, MO-KS | 79 | 520 | 5.8 | $10.8M | +3.4% |
| 24Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 79 | 44 | 6.3 | $9.7M | +21.1% |
| 25Boise City, ID | 79 | 236 | 7.8 | $8M | +12.2% |
| 26Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 78 | 188 | 5.3 | $14.5M | +3.7% |
| 27Gettysburg, PA | 78 | 27 | 6.6 | $10.3M | +3.6% |
| 28Ogden, UT | 78 | 144 | 6.7 | $9.7M | +5.3% |
| 29Ames, IA | 77 | 24 | 4.8 | $12.5M | +2.2% |
| 30Fort Wayne, IN | 77 | 87 | 4.8 | $12.4M | +3.9% |
| 31Boulder, CO | 76 | 72 | 5.3 | $12.7M | −0.7% |
| 32Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 76 | 245 | 5.6 | $11.2M | +2.8% |
| 33Lancaster, PA | 76 | 148 | 7.0 | $10M | +1.9% |
| 34Rochester, MN | 76 | 64 | 6.9 | $9.4M | +2.0% |
| 35York-Hanover, PA | 76 | 137 | 7.5 | $9.1M | +3.6% |
| 36Ann Arbor, MI | 75 | 50 | 3.3 | $19.4M | −0.4% |
| 37Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | 75 | 64 | 5.4 | $11.8M | +2.8% |
| 38Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | 75 | 26 | 5.5 | $11.3M | +5.0% |
| 39Logan, UT-ID | 75 | 37 | 7.5 | $8.1M | +8.8% |
| 40San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 74 | 313 | 4.6 | $16.3M | −0.6% |
| 41Monroe, MI | 74 | 25 | 4.0 | $15.4M | +0.7% |
| 42Missoula, MT | 74 | 34 | 6.2 | $9.6M | +4.7% |
| 43Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 74 | 722 | 7.3 | $9.2M | +14.0% |
| 44Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 73 | 305 | 4.6 | $13.2M | 0.0% |
| 45Lebanon, PA | 73 | 35 | 6.2 | $10.8M | +2.2% |
| 46Naples-Marco Island, FL | 73 | 108 | 6.5 | $10M | +10.6% |
| 47Helena, MT | 73 | 27 | 6.9 | $8.8M | +7.7% |
| 48Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 73 | 86 | 9.0 | $7M | +12.0% |
| 49San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 72 | 804 | 4.6 | $15.6M | −2.4% |
| 50Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 72 | 1,638 | 4.5 | $14.4M | 0.0% |
Top 25 small-town markets
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Torrington, CT | 90 | 32 | 6.7 | $10.7M | +2.2% |
| 2Faribault-Northfield, MN | 89 | 17 | 7.2 | $8.6M | +4.2% |
| 3Durango, CO | 87 | 15 | 6.2 | $10.1M | +2.2% |
| 4Port Townsend, WA | 85 | 10 | 6.1 | $9.7M | +2.7% |
| 5Auburn, IN | 84 | 10 | 5.8 | $10.1M | +2.9% |
| 6Kalispell, MT | 84 | 33 | 7.5 | $7.9M | +10.1% |
| 7Sandpoint, ID | 83 | 9 | 4.4 | $13.1M | +14.8% |
| 8Lake of the Woods, VA | 83 | 9 | 6.1 | $10.7M | +10.1% |
| 9Shelton, WA | 83 | 16 | 6.1 | $9.9M | +7.8% |
| 10Seaford, DE | 83 | 84 | 7.9 | $7.9M | +16.1% |
| 11Rifle, CO | 83 | 27 | 8.3 | $7.7M | +1.2% |
| 12Oak Harbor, WA | 82 | 8 | 2.2 | $28.3M | −1.5% |
| 13Fremont, NE | 82 | 9 | 5.9 | $10M | +2.6% |
| 14Columbus, NE | 82 | 13 | 7.5 | $8M | +3.8% |
| 15Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 81 | 23 | 5.4 | $11.8M | −0.4% |
| 16Jasper, IN | 81 | 10 | 5.7 | $10.7M | +0.9% |
| 17Angola, IN | 81 | 8 | 5.7 | $10.5M | +1.0% |
| 18Granbury, TX | 81 | 18 | 7.1 | $8.9M | +13.6% |
| 19Warrensburg, MO | 81 | 14 | 6.6 | $8.7M | +4.9% |
| 20Pella, IA | 81 | 10 | 7.5 | $8.1M | +2.3% |
| 21Brookings, SD | 81 | 11 | 8.0 | $7.4M | +9.6% |
| 22Kearney, NE | 80 | 16 | 7.0 | $8.6M | +1.9% |
| 23Austin, MN | 80 | 11 | 7.0 | $8.5M | +2.3% |
| 24Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI | 80 | 37 | 8.6 | $7.3M | +0.8% |
| 25Laramie, WY | 79 | 6 | 3.5 | $16M | +3.9% |
Top 25 counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hamilton County, IN | 98 | 45 | 3.3 | $21.7M | +10.9% |
| 2Douglas County, CO | 98 | 71 | 5.1 | $14.7M | +10.9% |
| 3Hendricks County, IN | 96 | 22 | 3.3 | $20.3M | +10.2% |
| 4Kendall County, IL | 96 | 18 | 4.0 | $17.3M | +9.9% |
| 5Williamson County, TN | 96 | 51 | 5.5 | $13.3M | +9.0% |
| 6Rockwall County, TX | 96 | 24 | 5.8 | $12.4M | +28.9% |
| 7Benton County, AR | 95 | 46 | 4.1 | $15.9M | +16.0% |
| 8San Benito County, CA | 95 | 9 | 4.4 | $15.7M | +8.6% |
| 9Broomfield County, CO | 94 | 11 | 3.5 | $20.4M | +6.3% |
| 10Sarpy County, NE | 94 | 33 | 4.5 | $15M | +9.0% |
| 11Boone County, IN | 94 | 18 | 6.3 | $11M | +13.5% |
| 12Dallas County, IA | 94 | 27 | 6.4 | $10.7M | +17.8% |
| 13Johnson County, KS | 93 | 89 | 3.6 | $19.3M | +4.2% |
| 14Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 93 | 17 | 4.3 | $14.9M | +10.4% |
| 15Delaware County, OH | 93 | 42 | 5.1 | $14.3M | +12.5% |
| 16Hancock County, IN | 93 | 19 | 5.7 | $11.5M | +13.5% |
| 17Wasatch County, UT | 93 | 8 | 6.2 | $11.2M | +9.9% |
| 18Oldham County, KY | 92 | 11 | 4.8 | $14.9M | +4.9% |
| 19Johnson County, IN | 92 | 28 | 4.5 | $14.3M | +7.4% |
| 20Platte County, MO | 92 | 21 | 4.8 | $13.8M | +6.7% |
| 21Fairfield County, OH | 92 | 30 | 5.0 | $12.8M | +6.5% |
| 22Washington County, MN | 92 | 66 | 6.3 | $11.2M | +6.9% |
| 23Lincoln County, SD | 92 | 18 | 6.5 | $10.3M | +17.5% |
| 24Utah County, UT | 92 | 130 | 6.4 | $10.2M | +14.5% |
| 25Boone County, KY | 91 | 23 | 4.5 | $14.6M | +6.5% |
Scored: 387 metro areas, 529 small-town markets and 2,261 counties, each with at least 5 convenience stores on map listings (counties: 10,000 people or more). Spending per listing is all household spending on groceries over the listings: demand for each competitor, not revenue. Each market has its own page, reached from its state below.
Excel · free with an account
Every market in one Excel file
Convenience stores figures for all 387 metro areas, 538 small-town markets, 3,144 counties and 51 states: the Groundwork market score and rank, map listings and chains, household spending, businesses with payroll, employees and payroll, one-person businesses, SBA-backed loans, population, income and home value, each linked to its page. Sorted, filterable and ready to screen.
Convenience stores by state
Every market in each state ranked, with the state’s highest-scoring metro area.
- AlabamaTop metro area: Huntsville metro area · 82
- AlaskaTop metro area: Anchorage metro area · 84
- ArizonaTop metro area: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area · 82
- ArkansasTop metro area: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area · 91
- CaliforniaTop metro area: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area · 74
- ColoradoTop metro area: Greeley metro area · 87
- ConnecticutTop metro area: Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury metro area · 78
- DelawareTop metro area: Dover metro area · 67
- District of ColumbiaTop metro area: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area · 72
- FloridaTop metro area: Wildwood-The Villages metro area · 79
- GeorgiaTop metro area: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area · 65
- HawaiiTop metro area: Urban Honolulu metro area · 53
- IdahoTop metro area: Boise City metro area · 79
- IllinoisTop metro area: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area · 72
- IndianaTop metro area: Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area · 86
- IowaTop metro area: Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area · 80
- KansasTop metro area: Lawrence metro area · 70
- KentuckyTop metro area: Lexington-Fayette metro area · 69
- LouisianaTop metro area: Slidell-Mandeville-Covington metro area · 63
- MaineTop metro area: Portland-South Portland metro area · 55
- MarylandTop metro area: Lexington Park metro area · 66
- MassachusettsTop metro area: Amherst Town-Northampton metro area · 70
- MichiganTop metro area: Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood metro area · 76
- MinnesotaTop metro area: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area · 83
- MississippiTop metro area: Gulfport-Biloxi metro area · 35
- MissouriTop metro area: Kansas City metro area · 79
- MontanaTop metro area: Bozeman metro area · 80
- NebraskaTop metro area: Omaha metro area · 81
- NevadaTop metro area: Reno metro area · 59
- New HampshireTop metro area: Manchester-Nashua metro area · 54
- New JerseyTop metro area: Trenton-Princeton metro area · 68
- New MexicoTop metro area: Santa Fe metro area · 71
- New YorkTop metro area: Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metro area · 63
- North CarolinaTop metro area: Raleigh-Cary metro area · 84
- North DakotaTop metro area: Fargo metro area · 85
- OhioTop metro area: Columbus metro area · 66
- OklahomaTop metro area: Tulsa metro area · 65
- OregonTop metro area: Bend metro area · 65
- PennsylvaniaTop metro area: Chambersburg metro area · 80
- Rhode IslandTop metro area: Providence-Warwick metro area · 53
- South CarolinaTop metro area: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area · 73
- South DakotaTop metro area: Sioux Falls metro area · 61
- TennesseeTop metro area: Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area · 63
- TexasTop metro area: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area · 74
- UtahTop metro area: Provo-Orem-Lehi metro area · 87
- VermontTop metro area: Burlington-South Burlington metro area · 51
- VirginiaTop metro area: Charlottesville metro area · 49
- WashingtonTop metro area: Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard metro area · 79
- West VirginiaTop metro area: Morgantown metro area · 45
- WisconsinTop metro area: Madison metro area · 83
- WyomingTop metro area: Cheyenne metro area · 51
Related business types
- Grocery and convenience stores240,991 listings
- Grocery stores87,856 listings
Questions
Which metro areas have the highest market score for convenience stores?
The top 5 are Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR (91); Greeley, CO (87); Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT (87); Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN (86); and Fargo, ND-MN (85). The score compares each of 387 scored metro areas with the others for convenience stores.
How many convenience stores are in the U.S.?
The U.S. has 103,637 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 62,240 of them (60%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 36,992 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023, up 22.0% from 2019.
How much do U.S. households spend on groceries?
About $816.5B a year, or $6,319 per household. Spread across the 103,637 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $7.9M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 129,209,336 households in the U.S. and national spending patterns by income.
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. Markets with fewer than 5 map listings of the type, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address anywhere in the U.S. It maps the convenience stores 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.
All business types and every U.S. market · How we measure
Screening a site or an acquisition?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
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.