Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · North Carolina
Convenience stores in the New Bern, NC area
How the New Bern, 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 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #86 of 529 scored small-town markets
#4 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 43
- 23 chain locations (53%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $298.7M
- On groceries · $5,694 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.9M
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.2
- 2% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 127,358
- +3.6% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the New Bern 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 New Bern 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 43 convenience stores in the New Bern area. 23 of them (53%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.2, 2% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
At $5,694 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in the New Bern area spend about $298.7M a year on groceries. That works out to $6.9M per store, 12% 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 New Bern area was 11 in 2023. That is one for every 4,768 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the New Bern area grew 3.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For convenience stores, the New Bern area has a Groundwork market score of 70 (upper middle): #86 of 529 scored small-town markets and #4 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the New Bern 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 | New Bern area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.2 | 9.3 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $6.9M | $6.5M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,768 | 4,711 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +20.6% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.6% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,694 | $6,016 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $64,475 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 21
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $501K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4323 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 38The 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 New Bern 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 New Bern area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 127,358+3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 52,452
- Median age
- 42.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,514 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 82
- Median household income
- $64,475+26.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,832
- Median home value
- $220,600
- Jobs located here
- 40,439
- Daytime population
- 116,417Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the New Bern 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 New Bern 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 New Bern 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 |
Other business types in the New Bern area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores59
- Grocery stores49
- Convenience stores70
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 New Bern, NC area?
There are 43 convenience stores on map listings in the New Bern area as of September 2026. 23 of them (53%) 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 the New Bern, NC area spend on groceries?
About $298.7M a year, or $5,694 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 43 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $6.9M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 52,452 households in the New Bern area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the New Bern, NC area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The New Bern area has 8.2 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $6.9M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the New Bern area would have about 38, against 43 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,768 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is the New Bern, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the New Bern area at 127,358 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 52,452 households. Median household income in the New Bern area is $64,475, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.4%, 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. 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 New Bern area scores 70 for convenience stores (upper middle), #86 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 New Bern 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 New Bern area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the New Bern 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 New Bern 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.