Groceries and convenience · County · California
Grocery and convenience stores in Merced County, CA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in Merced County, CA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,606 of 2,402 scored counties
#39 of 55 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 230
- 94 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 74
- +2.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $489.2M
- On groceries · $5,684 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.1M
- 37% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 26.7
- 43% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 297,260
- +5.1% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Merced 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 Merced 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
At $5,684 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in Merced County spend about $489.2M a year on groceries. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each store on map listings, 37% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
Merced County has 230 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 94 of them (41%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 26.7 for every 10,000 households, 43% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Official counts show 74 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Merced County in 2023, up 2.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,163 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 56 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $8.8M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Merced County.
Population estimates put the population change in Merced County from 2020 to 2025 at +5.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, Merced County has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #1,606 of 2,402 scored counties and #39 of 55 scored counties in California.
How Merced County compares
The same measures for California 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 | Merced County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 26.7 | 18.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.1M | $3.6M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,163 | 1,214 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.8% | +5.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,684 | $6,548 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $65,510 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 72 → 74+2.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,682
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $55.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 56Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23094 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 144The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $8.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Merced 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 Merced County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 297,260+5.1% since 2020
- Households
- 86,055
- Median age
- 32.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,938 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 150
- Median household income
- $65,510+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $87,781
- Median home value
- $391,800
- Jobs located here
- 77,775
- Daytime population
- 255,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Merced 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 Merced 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in California for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in California, with Merced County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Placer County, CA | 85 | 220 | 13.9 | $4.9M | +8.9% | #99 of 2,402 |
| 2San Benito County, CA | 80 | 38 | 18.5 | $3.7M | +8.6% | #188 of 2,402 |
| 3El Dorado County, CA | 74 | 107 | 14.0 | $4.8M | +0.6% | #311 of 2,402 |
| 4Riverside County, CA | 73 | 1,248 | 16.1 | $4M | +5.0% | #354 of 2,402 |
| 5Contra Costa County, CA | 71 | 552 | 13.3 | $5.3M | +0.3% | #402 of 2,402 |
| 6Santa Clara County, CA | 70 | 924 | 14.0 | $5.4M | −0.9% | #427 of 2,402 |
| 7Orange County, CA | 66 | 1,680 | 15.5 | $4.4M | −1.1% | #550 of 2,402 |
| 8Solano County, CA | 66 | 255 | 16.2 | $4M | +0.6% | #555 of 2,402 |
| 9Amador County, CA | 66 | 28 | 17.4 | $3.5M | +3.2% | #560 of 2,402 |
| 10San Diego County, CA | 65 | 1,804 | 15.4 | $4.3M | −0.6% | #581 of 2,402 |
| 39Merced County, CA | 40 | 230 | 26.7 | $2.1M | +5.1% | #1,606 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Merced County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores40
- Grocery stores37
- Convenience stores57
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 Merced County, CA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 230 grocery and convenience stores in Merced County. 94 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 74 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 2.8% from 2019. Official counts list 56 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Merced County, CA spend on groceries?
About $489.2M a year, or $5,684 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 230 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.1M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 86,055 households in Merced County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Merced County, CA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Merced County has 26.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 43% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.1M, 37% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Merced County would have about 144, against 230 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,163 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is Merced County, CA growing?
Population estimates put Merced County at 297,260 people in 2025, up 5.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,055 households. The median household income in Merced County is $65,510 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.1% 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. Merced County scores 40 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #1,606 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Merced 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 Merced County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Merced 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 Merced 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.