Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Arizona

Convenience stores in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area

How the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 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 82 out of 100: High

Ranked #11 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 7 scored metro areas based in Arizona

Listings
1,112
838 chain locations (75%)
Official establishments
235
−2.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$11.9B
On groceries · $6,283 a household
Spending per listing
$10.7M
36% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
26% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,228,938
+7.3% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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

The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area scores 82 (high) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #11 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 7 scored metro areas based in Arizona. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for convenience stores.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,112 convenience stores in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area. Of those, 838 are chain locations, or 75%, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.9, 26% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

At $6,283 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area spend about $11.9B a year on groceries. Spread across 1,112 convenience stores, that is $10.7M per store, 36% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area was 235 in 2023, down 2.9% from 2019. That is one for every 8,054 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $585K have gone to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area. Population estimates show the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area grew 7.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area compares

The same measures for Arizona 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area compared with Arizona and the U.S.
MeasurePhoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro areaArizonaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.96.38.0
Spending per listing$10.7M$9.7M$7.9M
Households per official establishment8,0548,0003,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.9%−1.1%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+7.3%+6.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,283$6,084$6,319
Median household income$88,301$79,964$80,734
Groundwork market score8273

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
235−2.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,029
Annual payroll, 2023
$29.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1,112838 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,509The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$585K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
5,228,938+7.3% since 2020
Households
1,892,613
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
14,569 sq. mi.
People per square mile
345
Median household income
$88,301+38.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$118,261
Median home value
$440,900
Jobs located here
2,390,924
Daytime population
5,104,371Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Convenience stores across Arizona

Every Arizona market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Arizona for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Arizona

Metro areas in Arizona ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ821,1125.9$10.7M+7.3%#11 of 387
2Yuma, AZ71435.4$10.2M+9.2%#56 of 387
3Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ70706.3$9.2M+6.5%#63 of 387
4Tucson, AZ672605.9$9.8M+2.8%#74 of 387
5Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ46878.5$6.4M+6.5%#229 of 387
6Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ38448.6$6.4M+0.6%#276 of 387
7Flagstaff, AZ36519.3$6.4M−0.6%#288 of 387

Other business types in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area?

There are 1,112 convenience stores on map listings in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area as of September 2026. 838 of them (75%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 235 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023, down 2.9% from 2019.

How much do households in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area spend on groceries?

About $11.9B a year, or $6,283 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,112 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $10.7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,892,613 households in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area has 5.9 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $10.7M, 36% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area would have about 1,509, against 1,112 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,054 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +22.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area at 5,228,938 people in 2025, up 7.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,892,613 households. Median household income in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area is $88,301, 9% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 38.2%, 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area scores 82 for convenience stores (high), #11 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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.