Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · North Carolina
Convenience stores in the Forest City, NC area
How the Forest City, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #397 of 529 scored small-town markets
#14 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 32
- 6 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $143.4M
- On groceries · $5,381 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.5M
- 43% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.0
- 50% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 65,745
- +2.1% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Forest City 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 Forest City 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 32 convenience stores in the Forest City area. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That is 12.0 per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
At $5,381 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in the Forest City area spend about $143.4M a year on groceries. Spread across 32 convenience stores, that is $4.5M per store, 43% below 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 Forest City area was 9 in 2023. That is one for every 2,960 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Forest City area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For convenience stores, the Forest City area has a Groundwork market score of 37 (lower middle): #397 of 529 scored small-town markets and #14 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Forest City area 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.
| Measure | Forest City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.0 | 9.3 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4.5M | $6.5M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,960 | 4,711 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +20.6% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,381 | $6,016 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $51,410 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9
- Employees, 2023
- 27
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $454K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 326 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 18The 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 Forest City 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 Forest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 65,745+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 26,642
- Median age
- 44.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 565 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 115
- Median household income
- $51,410+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,230
- Median home value
- $201,800
- Jobs located here
- 19,241
- Daytime population
- 55,091Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forest City 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 Forest City 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for convenience stores, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Forest City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Waynesville, NC | 74 | 18 | 6.6 | $8.5M | +1.9% | #56 of 529 |
| 2Anderson Creek, NC | 73 | 41 | 8.2 | $7.1M | +12.3% | #64 of 529 |
| 3Brevard, NC | 71 | 12 | 8.2 | $7.1M | +2.9% | #82 of 529 |
| 4New Bern, NC | 70 | 43 | 8.2 | $6.9M | +3.6% | #86 of 529 |
| 5Morehead City, NC | 66 | 37 | 11.6 | $5.2M | +4.1% | #126 of 529 |
| 6Albemarle, NC | 62 | 26 | 10.3 | $5.5M | +9.8% | #161 of 529 |
| 7Boone, NC | 61 | 19 | 9.0 | $6.2M | +0.6% | #167 of 529 |
| 8Marion, NC | 60 | 18 | 9.7 | $5.7M | +1.5% | #182 of 529 |
| 9Elizabeth City, NC | 60 | 17 | 10.8 | $5.3M | +4.5% | #183 of 529 |
| 10Mount Airy, NC | 56 | 33 | 11.0 | $4.9M | +1.3% | #229 of 529 |
| 14Forest City, NC | 37 | 32 | 12.0 | $4.5M | +2.1% | #397 of 529 |
Other business types in the Forest City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores43
- Grocery stores55
- Convenience stores37
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 Forest City, NC area?
There are 32 convenience stores on map listings in the Forest City area as of September 2026. 6 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Forest City, NC area spend on groceries?
About $143.4M a year, or $5,381 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.5M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,642 households in the Forest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forest City, NC area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Forest City area has 12.0 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $4.5M, 43% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Forest City area would have about 18, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,960 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is the Forest City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Forest City area at 65,745 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,642 households. Median household income in the Forest City area is $51,410, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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 Forest City area scores 37 for convenience stores (lower middle), #397 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 Forest City 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 Forest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forest City 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 Forest City 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.