Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Alaska

Convenience stores in the Fairbanks-College, AK metro area

How the Fairbanks-College, AK metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #138 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 2 scored metro areas based in Alaska

Listings
24
8 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$230M
On groceries · $6,326 a household
Spending per listing
$9.6M
22% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.6
17% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
93,972
−1.4% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Fairbanks-College metro 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 Fairbanks-College metro 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 24 convenience stores in the Fairbanks-College metro area. 8 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. That is 6.6 per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Household spending on groceries in the Fairbanks-College metro area comes to about $230M a year: $6,326 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 24 convenience stores, that is $9.6M per store, 22% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in the Fairbanks-College metro area: counts under 3 aren’t published.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fairbanks-College metro area declined 1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For convenience stores, the Fairbanks-College metro area has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #138 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 2 scored metro areas based in Alaska.

How the Fairbanks-College metro area compares

The same measures for Alaska 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 Fairbanks-College, AK metro area compared with Alaska and the U.S.
MeasureFairbanks-College metro areaAlaskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.66.08.0
Spending per listing$9.6M$10.6M$7.9M
Households per official establishmentn/a7,7303,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.9%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.4%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,326$6,384$6,319
Median household income$88,267$92,788$80,734
Groundwork market score5966

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
248 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
29The 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 Fairbanks-College 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 Fairbanks-College metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
93,972−1.4% since 2020
Households
36,359
Median age
35.0
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
7,335 sq. mi.
People per square mile
13
Median household income
$88,267+14.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,548
Median home value
$298,200
Jobs located here
n/a
Daytime population
n/aResidents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fairbanks-College 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 convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Convenience stores across Alaska

Every Alaska market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alaska for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Alaska, with the Fairbanks-College metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alaska

Metro areas in Alaska ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Anchorage, AK84583.9$16.7M+1.9%#6 of 387
2Fairbanks-College, AK59246.6$9.6M−1.4%#138 of 387

Other business types in the Fairbanks-College metro area

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Fairbanks-College, AK metro area?

The Fairbanks-College metro area has 24 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. No official count is published for convenience stores in the Fairbanks-College metro area: counts under 3 are left out.

How much do households in the Fairbanks-College, AK metro area spend on groceries?

About $230M a year, or $6,326 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $9.6M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 36,359 households in the Fairbanks-College metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fairbanks-College, AK metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

The Fairbanks-College metro area has 6.6 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $9.6M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Fairbanks-College metro area would have about 29, against 24 on map listings.

How fast is the Fairbanks-College, AK metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Fairbanks-College metro area at 93,972 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 36,359 households. Median household income in the Fairbanks-College metro area is $88,267, 9% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 14.6%, 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 Fairbanks-College metro area scores 59 for convenience stores (upper middle), #138 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 Fairbanks-College metro 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 Fairbanks-College metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fairbanks-College 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 Fairbanks-College 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.