Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Pennsylvania

Convenience stores in Dauphin County, PA

The convenience stores in Dauphin County, PA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #466 of 2,261 scored counties
#21 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
103
57 chain locations (55%)
Official establishments
34
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$805.8M
On groceries · $6,640 a household
Spending per listing
$7.8M
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.5
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
293,351
+2.3% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in Dauphin 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 Dauphin 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

Households in Dauphin County spend about $805.8M a year on groceries, or $6,640 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. Spread across 103 convenience stores, that is $7.8M per store, in line with the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

Dauphin County has 103 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 55% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That is 8.5 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in Dauphin County was 34 in 2023. That is one for every 3,569 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Dauphin County grew 2.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Dauphin County scores 69 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #466 of 2,261 scored counties and #21 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Dauphin County compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Dauphin County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureDauphin CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.57.78.0
Spending per listing$7.8M$8.7M$7.9M
Households per official establishment3,5693,4823,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+27.0%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,640$6,738$6,319
Median household income$76,242$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score6955

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
17 → 34
Employees, 2023
105
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
10357 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
102The 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 Dauphin 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 Dauphin County

Population, 2025 estimate
293,351+2.3% since 2020
Households
121,358
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
525 sq. mi.
People per square mile
552
Median household income
$76,242+25.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,388
Median home value
$236,400
Jobs located here
201,933
Daytime population
355,122Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Convenience stores across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Dauphin County marked.

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Chester County, PA881236.0$13.1M+4.2%#54 of 2,261
2Cumberland County, PA88767.1$9.8M+6.5%#62 of 2,261
3Franklin County, PA86406.3$10.6M+3.0%#83 of 2,261
4Adams County, PA84276.6$10.3M+3.6%#103 of 2,261
5York County, PA841377.5$9.1M+3.6%#107 of 2,261
6Lancaster County, PA831487.0$10M+1.9%#120 of 2,261
7Butler County, PA83698.5$8.2M+3.2%#122 of 2,261
8Lebanon County, PA80356.2$10.8M+2.2%#166 of 2,261
9Northampton County, PA78927.5$9.3M+3.7%#224 of 2,261
10Montgomery County, PA762216.6$11.6M+2.4%#272 of 2,261
21Dauphin County, PA691038.5$7.8M+2.3%#466 of 2,261

Other business types in Dauphin County

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in Dauphin County, PA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 103 convenience stores in Dauphin County. 57 of them (55%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 34 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in Dauphin County, PA spend on groceries?

About $805.8M a year, or $6,640 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 103 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $7.8M 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 121,358 households in Dauphin County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Dauphin County, PA compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

Dauphin County has 8.5 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $7.8M, in line with the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Dauphin County would have about 102, against 103 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,569 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is Dauphin County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Dauphin County at 293,351 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 121,358 households. The median household income in Dauphin County is $76,242 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.6% 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. Dauphin County scores 69 for convenience stores (upper middle), #466 of 2,261 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dauphin 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 Dauphin 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.