Groceries and convenience · Metro area · California
Grocery and convenience stores in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #256 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 194
- 69 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 88
- +3.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $657.5M
- On groceries · $6,785 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.0
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 194 grocery and convenience stores in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. Of those, 69 are chain locations, or 36%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 20.0 per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area comes to about $657.5M a year: $6,785 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. Spread across 194 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.4M per store, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 88 businesses with payroll in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 3.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,101 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 40 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $350K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −4.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is 41 (lower middle), #256 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area 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 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.0 | 18.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $3.6M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,101 | 1,214 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.5% | +5.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,785 | $6,548 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 88+3.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,240
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $121.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 40Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 19469 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 194The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $350K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 258,852−4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 96,898
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 445 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 595
- Median household income
- $111,093+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $156,435
- Median home value
- $1,027,500
- Jobs located here
- 95,587
- Daytime population
- 247,989Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in California, with the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 68 | 962 | 14.1 | $5.3M | −0.6% | #68 of 387 |
| 2Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 64 | 1,420 | 16.1 | $4M | +3.2% | #98 of 387 |
| 3San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 61 | 1,804 | 15.4 | $4.3M | −0.6% | #120 of 387 |
| 4Vallejo, CA | 60 | 255 | 16.2 | $4M | +0.6% | #124 of 387 |
| 5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 57 | 2,572 | 17.7 | $3.5M | +3.5% | #152 of 387 |
| 6San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 56 | 2,906 | 16.7 | $4.3M | −2.4% | #154 of 387 |
| 7Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 50 | 496 | 17.7 | $3.8M | −1.5% | #198 of 387 |
| 8Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 47 | 7,916 | 17.6 | $3.7M | −2.6% | #216 of 387 |
| 9San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 47 | 213 | 19.5 | $3.3M | 0.0% | #219 of 387 |
| 10Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 43 | 369 | 19.3 | $3.5M | −0.4% | #243 of 387 |
| 12Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 41 | 194 | 20.0 | $3.4M | −4.7% | #256 of 387 |
Other business types in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 stores28
- Convenience stores64
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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
There are 194 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area as of September 2026. 69 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 88 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 3.5% from 2019. Another 40 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on groceries?
About $657.5M a year, or $6,785 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 194 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 96,898 households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 20.0 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.4M, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.4M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,101 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area at 258,852 people in 2025, down 4.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 96,898 households. Median household income in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is $111,093, 38% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.1%, 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area scores 41 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #256 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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.