Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Alabama

Grocery and convenience stores in Clarke County, AL

How Clarke County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 26 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #2,091 of 2,402 scored counties
#46 of 64 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
29
10 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$45.1M
On groceries · $5,351 a household
Spending per listing
$1.6M
54% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
34.4
84% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
22,014
−4.2% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Clarke County

The site report maps the grocery and 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 Clarke 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

The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Clarke County is 26 (lower middle), #2,091 of 2,402 scored counties and #46 of 64 scored counties in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

As of September 2026, map listings count 29 grocery and convenience stores in Clarke County. 10 of them (34%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 34.4 for every 10,000 households, 84% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Households in Clarke County spend about $45.1M a year on groceries, or $5,351 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.6M per store, 54% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Clarke County in 2023. That is one for every 2,106 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Clarke County declined 4.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Clarke County compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all groceries by the grocery and 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Clarke County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureClarke CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households34.421.318.7
Spending per listing$1.6M$2.7M$3.4M
Households per official establishment2,1061,6571,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+23.1%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.2%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,351$5,771$6,319
Median household income$49,249$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score2636

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 4
Employees, 2023
133
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2910 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
13The 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 grocery and convenience stores in Clarke 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 Clarke County

Population, 2025 estimate
22,014−4.2% since 2020
Households
8,423
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,238 sq. mi.
People per square mile
18
Median household income
$49,249+31.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$75,047
Median home value
$121,700
Jobs located here
7,813
Daytime population
20,445Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clarke 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 grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Clarke County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery and convenience stores across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Clarke County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Madison County, AL8824614.9$4.3M+11.0%#67 of 2,402
2Limestone County, AL886616.1$3.9M+18.0%#69 of 2,402
3Autauga County, AL823515.3$3.9M+5.1%#150 of 2,402
4Shelby County, AL7913515.5$4.3M+6.5%#202 of 2,402
5Baldwin County, AL7619519.8$3.1M+14.8%#280 of 2,402
6Lee County, AL7311616.7$3.5M+8.6%#367 of 2,402
7Lawrence County, AL682417.6$3.2M+2.3%#509 of 2,402
8St. Clair County, AL686518.5$3.2M+7.1%#511 of 2,402
9Elmore County, AL657623.1$2.6M+4.2%#611 of 2,402
10Coffee County, AL634521.4$2.7M+6.3%#688 of 2,402
46Clarke County, AL262934.4$1.6M−4.2%#2,091 of 2,402

Other business types in Clarke County

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Clarke County, AL?

Clarke County has 29 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Clarke County, AL spend on groceries?

About $45.1M a year, or $5,351 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 29 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,423 households in Clarke County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Clarke County, AL compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

Clarke County has 34.4 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 84% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.6M, 54% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Clarke County would have about 13, against 29 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,106 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Clarke County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Clarke County at 22,014 people in 2025, down 4.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,423 households. Median household income in Clarke County is $49,249, 39% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.7%, 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. Clarke County scores 26 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #2,091 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Clarke County. It maps the grocery and 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 grocery and convenience stores · All 56 business types in Clarke County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clarke 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 Clarke 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.