Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · North Carolina

Convenience stores in the Rocky Mount, NC metro area

How the Rocky Mount, NC 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 26 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #343 of 387 scored metro areas
#13 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
91
51 chain locations (56%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$327.9M
On groceries · $5,610 a household
Spending per listing
$3.6M
54% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.6
95% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
148,486
+2.8% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro area. 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

For convenience stores, the Rocky Mount metro area has a Groundwork market score of 26 (lower middle): #343 of 387 scored metro areas and #13 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 91 convenience stores in the Rocky Mount metro area. 51 of them (56%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. That is 15.6 per 10,000 households, 95% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Household spending on groceries in the Rocky Mount metro area comes to about $327.9M a year: $5,610 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.6M per store, 54% below 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 14 businesses with payroll in the Rocky Mount metro area classed as convenience stores. That is one for every 4,175 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Rocky Mount metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.8%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Rocky Mount metro 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.

Convenience stores in Rocky Mount, NC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureRocky Mount metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.69.38.0
Spending per listing$3.6M$6.5M$7.9M
Households per official establishment4,1754,7113,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+20.6%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.8%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,610$6,016$6,319
Median household income$59,636$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score2650

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14
Employees, 2023
36
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
9151 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
42The 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 Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
148,486+2.8% since 2020
Households
58,449
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,046 sq. mi.
People per square mile
139
Median household income
$59,636+33.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,773
Median home value
$167,800
Jobs located here
55,119
Daytime population
136,134Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro area. 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 metro areas in North Carolina for convenience stores, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Rocky Mount metro area marked.

Top metro areas in North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Raleigh-Cary, NC843766.5$10.2M+12.6%#8 of 387
2Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC688828.2$7.7M+10.1%#73 of 387
3Durham-Chapel Hill, NC672098.4$7.6M+7.5%#77 of 387
4Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC65429.5$6.5M+10.3%#98 of 387
5Asheville, NC621187.3$8.2M+3.6%#117 of 387
6Wilmington, NC6120110.1$6.1M+15.9%#124 of 387
7Winston-Salem, NC582157.6$7.6M+5.3%#151 of 387
8Jacksonville, NC52658.6$6.7M+6.0%#189 of 387
9Burlington, NC51649.1$6.3M+8.5%#198 of 387
10Greensboro-High Point, NC442788.8$6.6M+4.1%#238 of 387
13Rocky Mount, NC269115.6$3.6M+2.8%#343 of 387

Other business types in the Rocky Mount metro area

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Rocky Mount, NC metro area?

There are 91 convenience stores on map listings in the Rocky Mount metro area as of September 2026. 51 of them (56%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Rocky Mount, NC metro area spend on groceries?

About $327.9M a year, or $5,610 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 91 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.6M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 58,449 households in the Rocky Mount metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Rocky Mount, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

The Rocky Mount metro area has 15.6 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 95% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $3.6M, 54% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Rocky Mount metro area would have about 42, against 91 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,175 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is the Rocky Mount, NC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Rocky Mount metro area at 148,486 people in 2025, up 2.8% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 58,449 households. Median household income in the Rocky Mount metro area is $59,636, 26% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 33.8%, 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 Rocky Mount metro area scores 26 for convenience stores (lower middle), #343 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 Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount 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.