Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · California
Grocery and convenience stores in the Sonora, CA area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Sonora, CA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #282 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 46
- 16 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $136.8M
- On groceries · $6,031 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3M
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.3
- 9% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 53,160
- −4.0% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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
Household spending on groceries in the Sonora area comes to about $136.8M a year: $6,031 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Spread across 46 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3M per store, 12% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Sonora area has 46 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 20.3 per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 17 businesses with payroll in the Sonora area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,335 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $4.2M has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Sonora area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Sonora area declined 4.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Sonora area scores 50 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #282 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California.
How the Sonora 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 | Sonora area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.3 | 18.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3M | $3.6M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,335 | 1,214 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,031 | $6,548 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $77,404 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17
- Employees, 2023
- 488
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $17.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4616 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 40The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $4.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Sonora 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 Sonora area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 53,160−4.0% since 2020
- Households
- 22,690
- Median age
- 48.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,221 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 25
- Median household income
- $77,404+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,064
- Median home value
- $433,200
- Jobs located here
- 16,129
- Daytime population
- 40,598Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 small-town markets in California for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sonora area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 74 | 25 | 11.5 | $5.5M | +0.9% | #44 of 538 |
| 1Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 63 | 71 | 16.6 | $3.8M | −0.4% | #139 of 538 |
| 2Crescent City, CA | 57 | 14 | 14.7 | $3.9M | −4.4% | #210 of 538 |
| 3Sonora, CA | 50 | 46 | 20.3 | $3M | −4.0% | #282 of 538 |
| 4Bishop, CA | 47 | 21 | 26.1 | $2.3M | −4.4% | #314 of 538 |
| 5Susanville, CA | 45 | 14 | 15.1 | $3.7M | −13.1% | #328 of 538 |
| 6Clearlake, CA | 39 | 57 | 21.2 | $2.7M | −0.6% | #389 of 538 |
| 7Eureka-Arcata, CA | 36 | 113 | 20.6 | $2.7M | −3.4% | #409 of 538 |
| 8Red Bluff, CA | 35 | 59 | 23.8 | $2.4M | −1.7% | #416 of 538 |
| 9Ukiah, CA | 26 | 94 | 27.0 | $2.1M | −3.5% | #471 of 538 |
Other business types in the Sonora area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores50
- Grocery stores37
- Convenience stores67
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 Sonora, CA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 46 grocery and convenience stores in the Sonora area. 16 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Sonora, CA area spend on groceries?
About $136.8M a year, or $6,031 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 46 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,690 households in the Sonora area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sonora, CA area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Sonora area has 20.3 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Sonora area would have about 40, against 46 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,335 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Sonora, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Sonora area at 53,160 people in 2025, down 4.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,690 households. The median household income in the Sonora area is $77,404 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.8% 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 Sonora area scores 50 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #282 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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.