Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · North Carolina

Convenience stores in Burke County, NC

How Burke County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,413 of 2,261 scored counties
#62 of 92 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
41
20 chain locations (49%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$202.6M
On groceries · $5,579 a household
Spending per listing
$4.9M
37% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.3
41% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
88,655
+1.6% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in Burke County

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 Burke County. 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

Household spending on groceries in Burke County comes to about $202.6M a year: $5,579 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4.9M per store, 37% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

There are 41 convenience stores on map listings in Burke County as of September 2026. Of those, 20 are chain locations, or 49%, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.3, 41% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in Burke County in 2023. That is one for every 3,301 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Burke County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Burke County scores 42 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #1,413 of 2,261 scored counties and #62 of 92 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Burke County compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Burke County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureBurke CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.39.38.0
Spending per listing$4.9M$6.5M$7.9M
Households per official establishment3,3014,7113,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+20.6%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.6%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,579$6,016$6,319
Median household income$58,592$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4250

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12 → 11
Employees, 2023
26
Annual payroll, 2023
$566K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
4120 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
26The 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 Burke County, 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 Burke County

Population, 2025 estimate
88,655+1.6% since 2020
Households
36,306
Median age
44.0
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
506 sq. mi.
People per square mile
173
Median household income
$58,592+31.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,743
Median home value
$185,400
Jobs located here
30,031
Daytime population
80,329Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Burke County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Burke County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Convenience stores across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for convenience stores, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Burke County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wake County, NC902776.0$11.3M+11.2%#34 of 2,261
2Orange County, NC90356.1$10.7M+6.1%#36 of 2,261
3Union County, NC90586.9$9.8M+11.7%#37 of 2,261
4Cabarrus County, NC87607.1$9M+9.9%#73 of 2,261
5Mecklenburg County, NC853327.1$9.1M+10.5%#91 of 2,261
6Johnston County, NC85728.4$7.4M+17.9%#94 of 2,261
7Lincoln County, NC84297.9$7.9M+13.2%#110 of 2,261
8Iredell County, NC82628.1$7.7M+12.9%#132 of 2,261
9Chatham County, NC81309.1$7.3M+11.0%#155 of 2,261
10Henderson County, NC80336.5$9.1M+5.0%#171 of 2,261
62Burke County, NC424111.3$4.9M+1.6%#1,413 of 2,261

Other business types in Burke County

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in Burke County, NC?

As of September 2026, map listings count 41 convenience stores in Burke County. 20 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in Burke County, NC spend on groceries?

About $202.6M a year, or $5,579 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 41 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.9M 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 36,306 households in Burke County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Burke County, NC compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

Burke County has 11.3 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 41% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $4.9M, 37% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Burke County would have about 26, against 41 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,301 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is Burke County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Burke County at 88,655 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 36,306 households. The median household income in Burke County is $58,592 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.5% 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. 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. Burke County scores 42 for convenience stores (lower middle), #1,413 of 2,261 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Burke County. 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 Burke County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Burke County?

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 Burke County. 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.