Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Alabama
Convenience stores in the Fort Payne, AL area
How the Fort Payne, AL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #421 of 529 scored small-town markets
#8 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama
- Listings
- 52
- 29 chain locations (56%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $139.1M
- On groceries · $5,315 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 66% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.9
- 2.5 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 74,085
- +3.4% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Fort Payne area
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 the Fort Payne 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
The Groundwork market score for convenience stores in the Fort Payne area is 34 (lower middle), #421 of 529 scored small-town markets and #8 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $5,315 per household (16% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Payne area spend about $139.1M a year on groceries. That works out to $2.7M per store, 66% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.
The Fort Payne area has 52 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 29 are chain locations, or 56%, against 60% across the U.S. That is 19.9 per 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 8.0.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in the Fort Payne area was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 3,740 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Fort Payne area grew 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Fort Payne area 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.
| Measure | Fort Payne area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.9 | 10.5 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $5.5M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,740 | 4,722 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +74.1% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,315 | $5,771 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $51,204 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 29
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $500K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5229 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 18The 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 the Fort Payne 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 Fort Payne area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 74,085+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 26,181
- Median age
- 40.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 777 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 93
- Median household income
- $51,204+26.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $68,235
- Median home value
- $152,700
- Jobs located here
- 22,918
- Daytime population
- 67,317Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Payne 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 convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Fort Payne area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardConvenience stores across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Alabama for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Payne area marked.
Top small-town markets in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Enterprise, AL | 79 | 18 | 8.6 | $6.8M | +6.3% | #30 of 529 |
| 2Cullman, AL | 67 | 37 | 10.5 | $5.4M | +6.7% | #114 of 529 |
| 3Albertville, AL | 63 | 37 | 10.1 | $5.6M | +6.0% | #151 of 529 |
| 4Ozark, AL | 49 | 16 | 8.1 | $6.7M | +1.3% | #290 of 529 |
| 5Scottsboro, AL | 48 | 30 | 13.8 | $3.9M | +3.3% | #306 of 529 |
| 6Troy, AL | 43 | 13 | 10.4 | $5.1M | +2.4% | #348 of 529 |
| 7Talladega-Sylacauga, AL | 38 | 54 | 14.2 | $3.8M | 0.0% | #387 of 529 |
| 8Fort Payne, AL | 34 | 52 | 19.9 | $2.7M | +3.4% | #421 of 529 |
| 9Russellville, AL | 33 | 13 | 10.9 | $4.9M | +1.1% | #422 of 529 |
| LaGrange, GA-AL | 32 | 50 | 12.4 | $4.4M | +3.0% | #429 of 529 |
Other business types in the Fort Payne area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores25
- Grocery stores24
- Convenience stores34
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many convenience stores are in the Fort Payne, AL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 52 convenience stores in the Fort Payne area. 29 of them (56%) 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 the Fort Payne, AL area spend on groceries?
About $139.1M a year, or $5,315 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 52 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,181 households in the Fort Payne area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Payne, AL area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Fort Payne area has 19.9 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $2.7M, 66% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Fort Payne area would have about 18, against 52 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,740 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Payne, AL area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Payne area at 74,085 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,181 households. The median household income in the Fort Payne area is $51,204 a year, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.6% 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. 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 Fort Payne area scores 34 for convenience stores (lower middle), #421 of 529 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Payne area. 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 the Fort Payne area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Payne 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 Fort Payne 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.