Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Arkansas
Convenience stores in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area
How the Fort Smith, AR-OK 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #261 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 92
- 28 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $506.8M
- On groceries · $5,569 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5.5M
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.1
- 26% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 234,140
- +3.1% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith metro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 92 convenience stores in the Fort Smith metro area. 28 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.1, 26% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Households in the Fort Smith metro area spend about $506.8M a year on groceries, or $5,569 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That is about $5.5M of household spending for each store on map listings, 30% 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 12 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in the Fort Smith metro area in 2023. That is one for every 7,583 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fort Smith metro area grew 3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for convenience stores in the Fort Smith metro area is 40 (lower middle), #261 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas.
How the Fort Smith metro area compares
The same measures for Arkansas 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 Smith metro area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.1 | 8.8 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $5.5M | $6.4M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,583 | 7,136 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +52.3% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,569 | $5,667 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $58,468 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 39
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $905K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 9228 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 64The 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 Smith 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 Fort Smith metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 234,140+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 90,992
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,800 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 128
- Median household income
- $58,468
- Average household income
- $82,344
- Median home value
- $171,200
- Jobs located here
- 98,120
- Daytime population
- 234,865Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith metro 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 Arkansas
Every Arkansas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Arkansas for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Smith metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | 91 | 98 | 4.5 | $13.7M | +13.1% | #1 of 387 |
| 2Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 60 | 233 | 7.5 | $7.8M | +3.8% | #132 of 387 |
| 3Jonesboro, AR | 44 | 54 | 10.1 | $5.5M | +3.6% | #240 of 387 |
| 4Fort Smith, AR-OK | 40 | 92 | 10.1 | $5.5M | +3.1% | #261 of 387 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 34 | 455 | 8.7 | $6.7M | −0.3% | #297 of 387 |
| 5Hot Springs, AR | 26 | 39 | 8.9 | $6.2M | −0.6% | #337 of 387 |
| Texarkana, TX-AR | 22 | 77 | 13.7 | $4M | −0.4% | #362 of 387 |
Other business types in the Fort Smith metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores36
- Grocery stores32
- Convenience stores40
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 Smith, AR-OK metro area?
There are 92 convenience stores on map listings in the Fort Smith metro area as of September 2026. 28 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area spend on groceries?
About $506.8M a year, or $5,569 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 92 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $5.5M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 90,992 households in the Fort Smith metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Fort Smith metro area has 10.1 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 26% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $5.5M, 30% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Fort Smith metro area would have about 64, against 92 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,583 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Smith metro area at 234,140 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,992 households. Median household income in the Fort Smith metro area is $58,468, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Fort Smith metro area scores 40 for convenience stores (lower middle), #261 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 Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith 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.