Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · North Carolina

Convenience stores in Wilson County, NC

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,932 of 2,261 scored counties
#80 of 92 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
49
29 chain locations (59%)
Official establishments
18
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$182.1M
On groceries · $5,506 a household
Spending per listing
$3.7M
53% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.8
85% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
81,150
+1.7% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in Wilson 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 Wilson County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Wilson County scores 25 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #1,932 of 2,261 scored counties and #80 of 92 scored counties in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on groceries in Wilson County comes to about $182.1M a year: $5,506 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.7M of household spending for each store on map listings, 53% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

Wilson County has 49 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 29 are chain locations, or 59%, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 14.8, 85% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 18 businesses with payroll in Wilson County classed as convenience stores. That is one for every 1,837 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Wilson County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Wilson 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 Wilson County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureWilson CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.89.38.0
Spending per listing$3.7M$6.5M$7.9M
Households per official establishment1,8374,7113,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+20.6%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.7%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,506$6,016$6,319
Median household income$56,423$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score2550

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
16 → 18
Employees, 2023
35
Annual payroll, 2023
$845K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
4929 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
23The 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 Wilson 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 Wilson County

Population, 2025 estimate
81,150+1.7% since 2020
Households
33,068
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
368 sq. mi.
People per square mile
216
Median household income
$56,423+28.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,415
Median home value
$186,000
Jobs located here
36,414
Daytime population
81,523Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Wilson 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 Wilson County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Wilson 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
80Wilson County, NC254914.8$3.7M+1.7%#1,932 of 2,261

Other business types in Wilson County

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in Wilson County, NC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 49 convenience stores in Wilson County. 29 of them (59%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

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

About $182.1M a year, or $5,506 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 33,068 households in Wilson County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Wilson County has 14.8 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 85% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $3.7M, 53% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Wilson County would have about 23, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,837 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is Wilson County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Wilson County at 81,150 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 33,068 households. The median household income in Wilson County is $56,423 a year, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.6% 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. Wilson County scores 25 for convenience stores (lower middle), #1,932 of 2,261 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Wilson 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 Wilson 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.