Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Arkansas
Grocery and convenience stores in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #102 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 505
- 223 chain locations (44%)
- Official establishments
- 128
- +2.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.8B
- On groceries · $5,851 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.6M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.2
- 13% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 777,607
- +3.8% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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
At $5,851 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area spend about $1.8B a year on groceries. That is about $3.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 7% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area has 505 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 223 are chain locations, or 44%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 16.2 per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 128 businesses with payroll in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 2.4% from 2019. That is one for every 2,434 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 144 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area grew 3.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area has a Groundwork market score of 64 (upper middle): #102 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas.
How the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.2 | 19.6 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.6M | $2.9M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,434 | 1,920 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.4% | +6.8% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.8% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,851 | $5,667 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $67,154 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 128+2.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,698
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $133.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 144Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 505223 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 538The 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 777,607+3.8% since 2020
- Households
- 311,547
- Median age
- 38.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 4,084 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 186
- Median household income
- $67,154+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,342
- Median home value
- $214,100
- Jobs located here
- 361,659
- Daytime population
- 794,293Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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 Arkansas
Every Arkansas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Arkansas for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | 84 | 309 | 14.3 | $4.4M | +13.1% | #12 of 387 |
| 2Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 64 | 505 | 16.2 | $3.6M | +3.8% | #102 of 387 |
| 3Jonesboro, AR | 42 | 101 | 19.0 | $2.9M | +3.6% | #252 of 387 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 36 | 975 | 18.6 | $3.1M | −0.3% | #292 of 387 |
| 4Fort Smith, AR-OK | 36 | 192 | 21.1 | $2.6M | +3.1% | #294 of 387 |
| 5Hot Springs, AR | 34 | 76 | 17.4 | $3.2M | −0.6% | #301 of 387 |
| Texarkana, TX-AR | 18 | 160 | 28.4 | $1.9M | −0.4% | #370 of 387 |
Other business types in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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 stores64
- Grocery stores70
- Convenience stores60
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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 505 grocery and convenience stores in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area. 223 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 128 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 2.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 144 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area spend on groceries?
About $1.8B a year, or $5,851 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 505 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 311,547 households in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area has 16.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.6M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area would have about 538, against 505 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,434 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area at 777,607 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 311,547 households. The median household income in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area is $67,154 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.7% 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area scores 64 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #102 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 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.