Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Alabama
Grocery and convenience stores in the Decatur, AL metro area
The grocery and convenience stores in the Decatur, AL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #261 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama
- Listings
- 125
- 36 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 38
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $365.6M
- On groceries · $5,834 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.9M
- 14% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.9
- 6% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 160,326
- +2.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Decatur metro area
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 the Decatur 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
Household spending on groceries in the Decatur metro area comes to about $365.6M a year: $5,834 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.9M per store, 14% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Decatur metro area has 125 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 19.9, 6% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 38 businesses with payroll in the Decatur metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,649 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 39 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Decatur metro area grew 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Decatur metro area scores 41 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #261 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama.
How the Decatur metro area 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 | Decatur metro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.9 | 21.3 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.9M | $2.7M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,649 | 1,657 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +23.1% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.5% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,834 | $5,771 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $68,116 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 36 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 38
- Employees, 2023
- 832
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $24.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 39Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 12536 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 108The 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 the Decatur 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 Decatur metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 160,326+2.5% since 2020
- Households
- 62,667
- Median age
- 41.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,270 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 124
- Median household income
- $68,116+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $87,472
- Median home value
- $202,500
- Jobs located here
- 58,542
- Daytime population
- 149,857Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Decatur 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 grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Decatur metro area. 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 metro areas in Alabama for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Decatur metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Huntsville, AL | 85 | 312 | 15.1 | $4.2M | +12.5% | #10 of 387 |
| 2Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 65 | 195 | 19.8 | $3.1M | +14.8% | #96 of 387 |
| 3Auburn-Opelika, AL | 56 | 132 | 17.2 | $3.3M | +7.1% | #161 of 387 |
| 4Birmingham, AL | 44 | 871 | 18.7 | $3.2M | +1.4% | #239 of 387 |
| 5Decatur, AL | 41 | 125 | 19.9 | $2.9M | +2.5% | #261 of 387 |
| 6Tuscaloosa, AL | 39 | 213 | 20.2 | $2.8M | +2.9% | #273 of 387 |
| 7Montgomery, AL | 38 | 304 | 20.1 | $2.9M | +0.9% | #282 of 387 |
| 8Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 38 | 149 | 23.4 | $2.4M | +3.5% | #284 of 387 |
| 9Dothan, AL | 25 | 158 | 25.9 | $2.1M | +3.4% | #345 of 387 |
| 10Gadsden, AL | 25 | 103 | 26.1 | $2.1M | +0.4% | #347 of 387 |
Other business types in the Decatur metro area
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 stores39
- Convenience stores39
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 the Decatur, AL metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 125 grocery and convenience stores in the Decatur metro area. 36 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 38 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 39 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Decatur, AL metro area spend on groceries?
About $365.6M a year, or $5,834 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 125 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.9M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 62,667 households in the Decatur metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Decatur, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Decatur metro area has 19.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.9M, 14% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Decatur metro area would have about 108, against 125 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,649 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Decatur, AL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Decatur metro area at 160,326 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 62,667 households. The median household income in the Decatur metro area is $68,116 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.1% 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 Decatur metro area scores 41 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #261 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 Decatur metro area. 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 the Decatur metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Decatur 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 Decatur 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.