Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Louisiana
Convenience stores in the Ruston, LA area
The convenience stores in the Ruston, LA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #436 of 529 scored small-town markets
#3 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana
- Listings
- 20
- 12 chain locations (60%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $96.1M
- On groceries · $5,197 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.8M
- 39% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.8
- 35% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 48,360
- +0.1% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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 Ruston area is 30 (lower middle), #436 of 529 scored small-town markets and #3 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Ruston area spend about $96.1M a year on groceries, or $5,197 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Spread across 20 convenience stores, that is $4.8M per store, 39% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.
There are 20 convenience stores on map listings in the Ruston area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 60% of them, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.8, 35% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for convenience stores in the Ruston area, since they leave out counts under 3. Population estimates put the population change in the Ruston area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ruston area compares
The same measures for Louisiana 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 | Ruston area | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.8 | 11.6 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4.8M | $4.9M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 2,978 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +25.7% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,197 | $5,704 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $39,172 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 12 |
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
- 2012 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The 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 Ruston 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 Ruston area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 48,360+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 18,487
- Median age
- 32.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 472 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 102
- Median household income
- $39,172+10.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $66,113
- Median home value
- $210,100
- Jobs located here
- 18,570
- Daytime population
- 48,307Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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 Louisiana
Every Louisiana market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Louisiana for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Louisiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ruston area marked.
Top small-town markets in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DeRidder, LA | 49 | 20 | 14.5 | $4M | +0.2% | #298 of 529 |
| 2New Iberia, LA | 40 | 32 | 11.9 | $4.6M | −4.6% | #375 of 529 |
| 3Ruston, LA | 30 | 20 | 10.8 | $4.8M | +0.1% | #436 of 529 |
| 4Bogalusa, LA | 28 | 19 | 10.7 | $4.8M | −0.9% | #452 of 529 |
| Natchez, MS-LA | 28 | 42 | 20.3 | $2.5M | −0.9% | #456 of 529 |
| 5Natchitoches, LA | 26 | 25 | 17.2 | $3.1M | −3.5% | #463 of 529 |
| 6Opelousas, LA | 16 | 49 | 15.2 | $3.4M | −1.9% | #500 of 529 |
| 7Morgan City, LA | 14 | 27 | 14.6 | $3.7M | −5.3% | #509 of 529 |
| 8Minden, LA | 10 | 25 | 17.4 | $2.9M | −5.2% | #521 of 529 |
Other business types in the Ruston area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores40
- Grocery stores38
- Convenience stores30
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 Ruston, LA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 20 convenience stores in the Ruston area. 12 of them (60%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. No official count is published for convenience stores in the Ruston area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Ruston, LA area spend on groceries?
About $96.1M a year, or $5,197 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.8M 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 18,487 households in the Ruston area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ruston, LA area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Ruston area has 10.8 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 35% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $4.8M, 39% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Ruston area would have about 12, against 20 on map listings.
How fast is the Ruston, LA area growing?
Population estimates put the Ruston area at 48,360 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,487 households. The median household income in the Ruston area is $39,172 a year, 51% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 10.5% 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 Ruston area scores 30 for convenience stores (lower middle), #436 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 Ruston 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 Ruston area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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.