Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Massachusetts
Convenience stores in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area
How the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 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 60 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #125 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 1,421
- 671 chain locations (47%)
- Official establishments
- 1,248
- +5.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $14.8B
- On groceries · $7,622 a household
- Spending per listing
- $10.4M
- 32% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.3
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,034,221
- +2.3% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 1,421 convenience stores in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area. Of those, 671 are chain locations, or 47%, against 60% across the U.S. That comes to 7.3 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.
At $7,622 per household (21% above the U.S. average), households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area spend about $14.8B a year on groceries. That works out to $10.4M per store, 32% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 1,248 businesses with payroll in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area classed as convenience stores, up 5.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,555 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 49 SBA-backed loans worth $11.5M have gone to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for convenience stores in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is 60 (upper middle), #125 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts.
How the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.3 | 8.1 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $10.4M | $9.1M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,555 | 1,591 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.0% | +3.4% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $7,622 | $7,382 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $115,863 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 60 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,248+5.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,969
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $100.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,421671 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,878The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 49
- Amount
- $11.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,034,221+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 1,940,688
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 3,486 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,421
- Median household income
- $115,863+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $159,721
- Median home value
- $646,300
- Jobs located here
- 2,811,395
- Daytime population
- 5,216,901Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 70 | 47 | 7.6 | $9.2M | +10.4% | #64 of 387 |
| 2Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 60 | 1,421 | 7.3 | $10.4M | +2.3% | #125 of 387 |
| 3Worcester, MA | 58 | 282 | 8.4 | $8.5M | +3.7% | #149 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 53 | 571 | 8.5 | $8.2M | +2.1% | #181 of 387 |
| 4Barnstable Town, MA | 51 | 98 | 9.3 | $7.8M | +2.4% | #193 of 387 |
| 5Springfield, MA | 35 | 192 | 10.4 | $6.3M | +0.2% | #290 of 387 |
| 6Pittsfield, MA | 32 | 150 | 26.0 | $2.6M | −1.2% | #313 of 387 |
Other business types in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 stores63
- Grocery stores61
- Convenience stores60
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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area?
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has 1,421 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 671 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 1,248 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023, up 5.0% from 2019.
How much do households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area spend on groceries?
About $14.8B a year, or $7,622 per household. That is 21% above the U.S. average (an index of 121, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,421 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $10.4M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,940,688 households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has 7.3 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $10.4M, 32% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area would have about 1,878, against 1,421 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,555 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +22.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area at 5,034,221 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,940,688 households. Median household income in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is $115,863, 44% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area scores 60 for convenience stores (upper middle), #125 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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.