Groceries and convenience · Metro area · New York
Convenience stores in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area
How the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 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 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #206 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York
- Listings
- 381
- 222 chain locations (58%)
- Official establishments
- 192
- +12.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $3.3B
- On groceries · $6,549 a household
- Spending per listing
- $8.6M
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.6
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,155,653
- −0.8% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 381 convenience stores in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area. Chain locations make up 58% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That is 7.6 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Household spending on groceries in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area comes to about $3.3B a year: $6,549 per household, 4% above the U.S. average. Spread across 381 convenience stores, that is $8.6M per store, 9% 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area was 192 in 2023, up 12.3% from 2019. That is one for every 2,612 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $100K has gone to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area declined 0.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #206 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.
How the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area compares
The same measures for New York 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 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area | New York | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.6 | 6.1 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $8.6M | $11.5M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,612 | 1,807 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.3% | +36.9% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,549 | $6,985 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $72,237 | $85,974 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 192+12.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,001
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $27.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 381222 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 417The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $100K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as convenience stores in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,155,653−0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 501,549
- Median age
- 42.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 1,565 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 742
- Median household income
- $72,237+25.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,175
- Median home value
- $226,100
- Jobs located here
- 547,190
- Daytime population
- 1,174,035Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 New York
Every New York market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for convenience stores, numbered among those based in New York, with the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area marked.
Top metro areas in New York
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | 63 | 175 | 6.9 | $10.5M | +3.0% | #105 of 387 |
| 2New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 62 | 3,530 | 4.8 | $15.3M | +0.6% | #111 of 387 |
| 3Ithaca, NY | 61 | 31 | 7.2 | $9.3M | −1.4% | #119 of 387 |
| 4Rochester, NY | 53 | 341 | 7.6 | $8.7M | −0.7% | #180 of 387 |
| 5Kingston, NY | 51 | 64 | 8.6 | $8M | +1.1% | #192 of 387 |
| 6Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 49 | 381 | 7.6 | $8.6M | −0.8% | #206 of 387 |
| 7Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 48 | 373 | 9.7 | $7.2M | +1.9% | #216 of 387 |
| 8Glens Falls, NY | 42 | 70 | 12.8 | $5.2M | −1.9% | #250 of 387 |
| 9Syracuse, NY | 38 | 266 | 9.8 | $6.8M | −1.3% | #273 of 387 |
| 10Binghamton, NY | 38 | 102 | 10.0 | $6.4M | −1.3% | #277 of 387 |
Other business types in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 stores49
- Grocery stores46
- Convenience stores49
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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area?
There are 381 convenience stores on map listings in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area as of September 2026. 222 of them (58%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 192 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023, up 12.3% from 2019.
How much do households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area spend on groceries?
About $3.3B a year, or $6,549 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 381 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $8.6M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 501,549 households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area has 7.6 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $8.6M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area would have about 417, against 381 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,612 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +22.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area at 1,155,653 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 501,549 households. Median household income in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area is $72,237, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.4%, 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area scores 49 for convenience stores (lower middle), #206 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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.