Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Texas

Convenience stores in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area

How the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 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 28 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #331 of 387 scored metro areas
#20 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
264
208 chain locations (79%)
Official establishments
24
+9.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$746.9M
On groceries · $5,396 a household
Spending per listing
$2.8M
64% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
19.1
2.4 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
433,946
+3.0% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area has a Groundwork market score of 28 (lower middle): #331 of 387 scored metro areas and #20 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 264 convenience stores in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area. Of those, 208 are chain locations, or 79%, against 60% across the U.S. That is 19.1 per 10,000 households, 2.4 times the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Households in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area spend about $746.9M a year on groceries, or $5,396 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.8M of household spending for each store on map listings, 64% 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 24 businesses with payroll in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area classed as convenience stores, up 9.1% from 2019. That is one for every 5,768 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area compares

The same measures for Texas 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 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureBrownsville-Harlingen metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households19.110.38.0
Spending per listing$2.8M$6M$7.9M
Households per official establishment5,7682,7723,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.1%+34.7%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,396$6,186$6,319
Median household income$52,601$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score2842

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
24+9.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
118
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
264208 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
95The 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
433,946+3.0% since 2020
Households
138,433
Median age
33.5
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
892 sq. mi.
People per square mile
478
Median household income
$52,601+35.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,931
Median home value
$136,500
Jobs located here
146,355
Daytime population
405,619Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Convenience stores across Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Texas for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Texas

Metro areas in Texas ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX747227.3$9.2M+14.0%#43 of 387
2Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX602,3058.0$8.1M+10.6%#129 of 387
3El Paso, TX591886.3$8.9M+1.3%#140 of 387
4Midland, TX599413.5$4.8M+9.8%#143 of 387
5Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX582,0617.7$8.1M+10.3%#150 of 387
6Tyler, TX53759.0$6.7M+7.8%#185 of 387
7San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX4899310.3$5.9M+9.5%#218 of 387
8Lubbock, TX4417512.5$4.6M+4.6%#243 of 387
9Amarillo, TX4414013.6$4.4M+2.7%#244 of 387
10Abilene, TX439915.0$3.9M+4.8%#247 of 387
20Brownsville-Harlingen, TX2826419.1$2.8M+3.0%#331 of 387

Other business types in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area?

The Brownsville-Harlingen metro area has 264 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 208 of them (79%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019.

How much do households in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area spend on groceries?

About $746.9M a year, or $5,396 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 264 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.8M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 138,433 households in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

The Brownsville-Harlingen metro area has 19.1 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 2.4 times the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $2.8M, 64% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the national ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area would have about 95, against 264 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,768 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +22.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area at 433,946 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 138,433 households. Median household income in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area is $52,601, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.7%, 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area scores 28 for convenience stores (lower middle), #331 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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.