Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · North Carolina

Convenience stores in Rowan County, NC

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for convenience stores in Rowan County, NC, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #880 of 2,261 scored counties
#38 of 92 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
63
35 chain locations (56%)
Official establishments
15
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$339.5M
On groceries · $5,763 a household
Spending per listing
$5.4M
32% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.7
34% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
155,096
+5.6% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in Rowan 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 Rowan 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 Rowan County comes to about $339.5M a year: $5,763 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 63 convenience stores, that is $5.4M per store, 32% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

Rowan County has 63 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 35 of them (56%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. That is 10.7 per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in Rowan County in 2023. That is one for every 3,927 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Rowan County grew 5.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for convenience stores in Rowan County is 57 (upper middle), #880 of 2,261 scored counties and #38 of 92 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Rowan 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 Rowan County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureRowan CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.79.38.0
Spending per listing$5.4M$6.5M$7.9M
Households per official establishment3,9274,7113,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+20.6%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.6%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,763$6,016$6,319
Median household income$65,725$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score5750

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14 → 15
Employees, 2023
63
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
6335 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
43The 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 Rowan 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 Rowan County

Population, 2025 estimate
155,096+5.6% since 2020
Households
58,899
Median age
40.8
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
512 sq. mi.
People per square mile
293
Median household income
$65,725+31.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,650
Median home value
$238,400
Jobs located here
54,409
Daytime population
138,541Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Rowan 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 Rowan 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 Rowan 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
38Rowan County, NC576310.7$5.4M+5.6%#880 of 2,261

Other business types in Rowan County

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in Rowan County, NC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 63 convenience stores in Rowan County. 35 of them (56%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

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

About $339.5M a year, or $5,763 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $5.4M 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 58,899 households in Rowan County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Rowan County has 10.7 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $5.4M, 32% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Rowan County would have about 43, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,927 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is Rowan County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Rowan County at 155,096 people in 2025, up 5.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 58,899 households. The median household income in Rowan County is $65,725 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.9% 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. Rowan County scores 57 for convenience stores (upper middle), #880 of 2,261 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rowan 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 Rowan County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rowan 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 Rowan 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.