Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Alabama

Convenience stores in Dale County, AL

How Dale County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,295 of 2,261 scored counties
#22 of 62 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
16
8 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
7
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$107.3M
On groceries · $5,440 a household
Spending per listing
$6.7M
15% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.1
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,912
+1.3% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in Dale County

The site report maps the convenience stores 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 Dale County. 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 16 convenience stores in Dale County. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That comes to 8.1 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Households in Dale County spend about $107.3M a year on groceries, or $5,440 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 16 convenience stores, that is $6.7M per store, 15% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in Dale County in 2023. That is one for every 2,818 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Dale County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Dale County scores 45 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #1,295 of 2,261 scored counties and #22 of 62 scored counties in Alabama.

How Dale County compares

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

Convenience stores in Dale County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureDale CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.110.58.0
Spending per listing$6.7M$5.5M$7.9M
Households per official establishment2,8184,7223,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+74.1%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,440$5,771$6,319
Median household income$54,963$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4534

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 7
Employees, 2023
29
Annual payroll, 2023
$478K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
168 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The 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 convenience stores in Dale 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 Dale County

Population, 2025 estimate
49,912+1.3% since 2020
Households
19,727
Median age
40.1
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
561 sq. mi.
People per square mile
88
Median household income
$54,963+16.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,266
Median home value
$143,500
Jobs located here
15,272
Daytime population
47,928Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dale 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 convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Convenience stores across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Dale County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Madison County, AL891076.5$9.8M+11.0%#49 of 2,261
2Limestone County, AL82368.8$7.1M+18.0%#135 of 2,261
3Shelby County, AL79667.6$8.7M+6.5%#197 of 2,261
4Baldwin County, AL78959.6$6.3M+14.8%#237 of 2,261
5Autauga County, AL72208.7$6.9M+5.1%#382 of 2,261
6Coffee County, AL72188.6$6.8M+6.3%#384 of 2,261
7Lee County, AL70608.6$6.7M+8.6%#445 of 2,261
8Elmore County, AL683410.3$5.8M+4.2%#505 of 2,261
9St. Clair County, AL634212.0$5M+7.1%#665 of 2,261
10Cullman County, AL613710.5$5.4M+6.7%#735 of 2,261
22Dale County, AL45168.1$6.7M+1.3%#1,295 of 2,261

Other business types in Dale County

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in Dale County, AL?

Dale County has 16 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in Dale County, AL spend on groceries?

About $107.3M a year, or $5,440 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $6.7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,727 households in Dale County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Dale County, AL compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

Dale County has 8.1 convenience stores per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $6.7M, 15% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Dale County would have about 14, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,818 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is Dale County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Dale County at 49,912 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,727 households. Median household income in Dale County is $54,963, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.4%, 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. Dale County scores 45 for convenience stores (lower middle), #1,295 of 2,261 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dale County. 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.

How the score works · Top markets for convenience stores · All 56 business types in Dale County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dale 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 Dale 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.