Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Arkansas
Grocery and convenience stores in the Forrest City, AR area
How the Forrest City, AR area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 16 out of 100: Low
Ranked #513 of 538 scored small-town markets
#14 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 23
- 8 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $39.2M
- On groceries · $5,034 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.7M
- 50% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 29.6
- 58% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 21,800
- −5.3% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Forrest City 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 Forrest City 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
The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Forrest City area is 16 (low), #513 of 538 scored small-town markets and #14 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Forrest City area spend about $39.2M a year on groceries, or $5,034 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Spread across 23 grocery and convenience stores, that is $1.7M per store, 50% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Forrest City area has 23 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 29.6 per 10,000 households, 58% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in the Forrest City area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,557 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Forrest City area declined 5.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Forrest City area compares
The same measures for Arkansas 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 | Forrest City area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 29.6 | 19.6 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $1.7M | $2.9M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,557 | 1,920 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.8% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −5.3% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,034 | $5,667 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $42,574 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 16 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 92
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 238 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The 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 Forrest City 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 Forrest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 21,800−5.3% since 2020
- Households
- 7,783
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 635 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 35
- Median household income
- $42,574+20.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $58,099
- Median home value
- $90,900
- Jobs located here
- 6,530
- Daytime population
- 21,343Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forrest City area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Forrest City 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 Arkansas
Every Arkansas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arkansas for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Arkansas, with the Forrest City area marked.
Top small-town markets in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Paragould, AR | 76 | 29 | 16.1 | $3.4M | +3.4% | #34 of 538 |
| 2Russellville, AR | 69 | 50 | 15.3 | $3.6M | +1.6% | #87 of 538 |
| 3Harrison, AR | 63 | 33 | 17.8 | $3.1M | +2.4% | #147 of 538 |
| 4Batesville, AR | 58 | 23 | 15.7 | $3.5M | +2.2% | #195 of 538 |
| 5Mountain Home, AR | 58 | 40 | 20.7 | $2.6M | +3.1% | #202 of 538 |
| 6Searcy, AR | 55 | 63 | 21.3 | $2.6M | +4.2% | #240 of 538 |
| 7Arkadelphia, AR | 47 | 16 | 19.7 | $2.7M | −2.2% | #312 of 538 |
| 8Malvern, AR | 47 | 30 | 24.4 | $2.2M | +1.1% | #315 of 538 |
| 9Blytheville, AR | 32 | 33 | 21.4 | $2.5M | −6.7% | #438 of 538 |
| 10El Dorado, AR | 23 | 47 | 31.3 | $1.7M | −5.2% | #483 of 538 |
| 14Forrest City, AR | 16 | 23 | 29.6 | $1.7M | −5.3% | #513 of 538 |
Other business types in the Forrest City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores16
- Grocery stores2
- Convenience stores16
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 Forrest City, AR area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 grocery and convenience stores in the Forrest City area. 8 of them (35%) 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. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Forrest City, AR area spend on groceries?
About $39.2M a year, or $5,034 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,783 households in the Forrest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forrest City, AR area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Forrest City area has 29.6 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 58% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.7M, 50% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Forrest City area would have about 12, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,557 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Forrest City, AR area growing?
Population estimates put the Forrest City area at 21,800 people in 2025, down 5.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,783 households. The median household income in the Forrest City area is $42,574 a year, 47% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.4% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Forrest City area scores 16 for grocery and convenience stores (low), #513 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Forrest City 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 Forrest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forrest City 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 Forrest City 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.