Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Alabama

Grocery and convenience stores in Monroe County, AL

How Monroe 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 18 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,248 of 2,402 scored counties
#56 of 64 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
22
6 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$37.7M
On groceries · $5,123 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
49% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.9
60% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
18,965
−3.8% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Monroe 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 Monroe 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

For grocery and convenience stores, Monroe County has a Groundwork market score of 18 (low): #2,248 of 2,402 scored counties and #56 of 64 scored counties in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $5,123 per household (19% below the U.S. average), households in Monroe County spend about $37.7M a year on groceries. Spread across 22 grocery and convenience stores, that is $1.7M per store, 49% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Monroe County has 22 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 27%, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 29.9 for every 10,000 households, 60% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Monroe County was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 1,473 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Monroe County from 2020 to 2025 at −3.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Monroe 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 Monroe County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureMonroe CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.921.318.7
Spending per listing$1.7M$2.7M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,4731,6571,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+23.1%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.8%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,123$5,771$6,319
Median household income$42,292$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score1836

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 5
Employees, 2023
74
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
226 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
11The 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County

Population, 2025 estimate
18,965−3.8% since 2020
Households
7,363
Median age
44.6
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,026 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$42,292+38.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$58,409
Median home value
$120,600
Jobs located here
5,784
Daytime population
17,349Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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
56Monroe County, AL182229.9$1.7M−3.8%#2,248 of 2,402

Other business types in Monroe County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 22 grocery and convenience stores in Monroe County. 6 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023.

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

About $37.7M a year, or $5,123 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,363 households in Monroe County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Monroe County has 29.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 60% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.7M, 49% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Monroe County would have about 11, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,473 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Monroe County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Monroe County at 18,965 people in 2025, down 3.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,363 households. The median household income in Monroe County is $42,292 a year, 48% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.9% 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. Monroe County scores 18 for grocery and convenience stores (low), #2,248 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Monroe 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 Monroe County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Monroe 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 Monroe 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.