Auto · Metro area · California
Gas stations in the Chico, CA metro area
How the Chico, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for gas stations: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #209 of 387 scored metro areas
#20 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 86
- 68 chain locations (79%)
- Official establishments
- 62
- +5.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $221.1M
- On gasoline and other fuels · $2,654 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.3
- 6% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 209,211
- −0.5% since 2020
See the gas stations around any address in the Chico metro area
The site report maps the gas stations 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 Chico metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 86 gas stations in the Chico metro area. Chain locations make up 79% of them, against 84% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.3, 6% below the U.S. rate of 10.9.
At $2,654 per household (2% above the U.S. average), households in the Chico metro area spend about $221.1M a year on gasoline and other fuels. That is about $2.6M of household spending for each station on map listings, 8% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 62 businesses with payroll in the Chico metro area classed as gasoline stations, up 5.1% from 2019. That is one for every 1,344 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $9M have gone to businesses classed as gasoline stations in the Chico metro area.
Population estimates show the Chico metro area declined 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For gas stations, the Chico metro area has a Groundwork market score of 48 (lower middle): #209 of 387 scored metro areas and #20 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the Chico metro area compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all gasoline and other fuels by the gas stations counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Chico metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.3 | 8.1 | 10.9 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $3.4M | $2.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,344 | 1,669 | 1,184 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.1% | +7.2% | −3.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.5% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on gasoline and other fuels | $2,654 | $2,747 | $2,595 |
| Median household income | $67,928 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 62+5.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 367
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $11.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8668 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 93The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as gasoline stations in the Chico 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 Chico metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 209,211−0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 83,312
- Median age
- 38.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,637 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 127
- Median household income
- $67,928+29.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $95,439
- Median home value
- $424,700
- Jobs located here
- 75,172
- Daytime population
- 203,711Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Chico 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 gas stations on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Chico metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGas stations across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for gas stations, numbered among those based in California, with the Chico metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 82 | 1,263 | 8.7 | $3.6M | +3.5% | #12 of 387 |
| 2Stockton-Lodi, CA | 75 | 258 | 10.5 | $2.9M | +5.5% | #34 of 387 |
| 3Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 74 | 211 | 7.5 | $4M | −1.5% | #39 of 387 |
| 4Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 73 | 141 | 7.4 | $3.9M | −0.4% | #46 of 387 |
| 5Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 73 | 738 | 8.4 | $3.3M | +3.2% | #47 of 387 |
| 6Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 72 | 73 | 7.5 | $3.9M | −4.7% | #50 of 387 |
| 7San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 71 | 705 | 6.0 | $4.6M | −0.6% | #54 of 387 |
| 8San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 71 | 465 | 6.8 | $4.1M | −0.6% | #56 of 387 |
| 9San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 70 | 91 | 8.3 | $3.6M | 0.0% | #65 of 387 |
| 10Vallejo, CA | 70 | 159 | 10.1 | $3M | +0.6% | #67 of 387 |
| 20Chico, CA | 48 | 86 | 10.3 | $2.6M | −0.5% | #209 of 387 |
Other business types in the Chico metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gas stations are in the Chico, CA metro area?
The Chico metro area has 86 gas stations on map listings as of September 2026. 68 of them (79%) are chain locations. The listings count gas stations. Official counts show 62 businesses with payroll classed as gasoline stations in 2023, up 5.1% from 2019.
How much do households in the Chico, CA metro area spend on gasoline and other fuels?
About $221.1M a year, or $2,654 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 86 gas stations on map listings, it comes to $2.6M per station. It is estimated from the incomes of the 83,312 households in the Chico metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Chico, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for gas stations?
The Chico metro area has 10.3 gas stations per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 10.9. Spending per station is $2.6M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M. At the national ratio of gas stations to household spending, the Chico metro area would have about 93, against 86 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,344 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.1% from 2019 to 2023, against −3.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Chico, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Chico metro area at 209,211 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 83,312 households. The median household income in the Chico metro area is $67,928 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.3% 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. The Chico metro area scores 48 for gas stations (lower middle), #209 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 Chico metro area. It maps the gas stations 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 gas stations · All 56 business types in the Chico metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Chico 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 Chico 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.