Groceries and convenience · County · Alabama
Grocery and convenience stores in Dale County, AL
How Dale 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 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,546 of 2,402 scored counties
#28 of 64 scored counties in Alabama
- Listings
- 42
- 13 chain locations (31%)
- Official establishments
- 13
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $107.3M
- On groceries · $5,440 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.3
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 49,912
- +1.3% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Dale 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 Dale County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 42 grocery and convenience stores in Dale County. Of those, 13 are chain locations, or 31%, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 21.3 for every 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in Dale County comes to about $107.3M a year: $5,440 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.6M per store, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in Dale County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,517 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 9 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Dale County grew 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, Dale County has a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle): #1,546 of 2,402 scored counties and #28 of 64 scored counties in Alabama.
How Dale 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.
| Measure | Dale County | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 21.3 | 21.3 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $2.7M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,517 | 1,657 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +23.1% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.3% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,440 | $5,771 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $54,963 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 36 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9 → 13
- Employees, 2023
- 157
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 9Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4213 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 32The 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 Dale 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 Dale County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 49,912+1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 19,727
- Median age
- 40.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 561 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 88
- Median household income
- $54,963+16.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,266
- Median home value
- $143,500
- Jobs located here
- 15,272
- Daytime population
- 47,928Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Dale 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 Dale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery 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 Dale County marked.
Top counties in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Madison County, AL | 88 | 246 | 14.9 | $4.3M | +11.0% | #67 of 2,402 |
| 2Limestone County, AL | 88 | 66 | 16.1 | $3.9M | +18.0% | #69 of 2,402 |
| 3Autauga County, AL | 82 | 35 | 15.3 | $3.9M | +5.1% | #150 of 2,402 |
| 4Shelby County, AL | 79 | 135 | 15.5 | $4.3M | +6.5% | #202 of 2,402 |
| 5Baldwin County, AL | 76 | 195 | 19.8 | $3.1M | +14.8% | #280 of 2,402 |
| 6Lee County, AL | 73 | 116 | 16.7 | $3.5M | +8.6% | #367 of 2,402 |
| 7Lawrence County, AL | 68 | 24 | 17.6 | $3.2M | +2.3% | #509 of 2,402 |
| 8St. Clair County, AL | 68 | 65 | 18.5 | $3.2M | +7.1% | #511 of 2,402 |
| 9Elmore County, AL | 65 | 76 | 23.1 | $2.6M | +4.2% | #611 of 2,402 |
| 10Coffee County, AL | 63 | 45 | 21.4 | $2.7M | +6.3% | #688 of 2,402 |
| 28Dale County, AL | 41 | 42 | 21.3 | $2.6M | +1.3% | #1,546 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Dale County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores41
- Grocery stores42
- Convenience stores45
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in Dale County, AL?
There are 42 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Dale County as of September 2026. 13 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 9 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Dale County, AL spend on groceries?
About $107.3M a year, or $5,440 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 42 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,727 households in Dale County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Dale County, AL compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Dale County has 21.3 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.6M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Dale County would have about 32, against 42 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,517 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Dale County, AL growing?
Population estimates put Dale County at 49,912 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,727 households. Median household income in Dale County is $54,963, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.4%, 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. Dale County scores 41 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #1,546 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dale 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 Dale County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Dale 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 Dale 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.