Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · California

Grocery and convenience stores in Ventura County, CA

How Ventura County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #894 of 2,402 scored counties
#18 of 55 scored counties in California

Listings
496
227 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
244
+8.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.9B
On groceries · $6,757 a household
Spending per listing
$3.8M
13% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.7
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
830,851
−1.5% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Ventura 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 Ventura County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 Ventura County comes to about $1.9B a year: $6,757 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. That is about $3.8M of household spending for each store on map listings, 13% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Ventura County has 496 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 46% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 17.7 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Ventura County was 244 in 2023, up 8.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,149 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 132 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $5.2M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Ventura County.

Population estimates put the population change in Ventura County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Ventura County is 57 (upper middle), #894 of 2,402 scored counties and #18 of 55 scored counties in California.

How Ventura 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Ventura County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureVentura CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.718.118.7
Spending per listing$3.8M$3.6M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,1491,2141,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.9%+5.3%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.5%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,757$6,548$6,319
Median household income$109,797$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score5749

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
224 → 244+8.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
7,650
Annual payroll, 2023
$290.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
132Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
496227 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
559The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
10
Amount
$5.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Ventura 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 Ventura County

Population, 2025 estimate
830,851−1.5% since 2020
Households
280,360
Median age
40.7
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,841 sq. mi.
People per square mile
455
Median household income
$109,797+24.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$144,867
Median home value
$822,700
Jobs located here
321,509
Daytime population
755,963Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Ventura 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 Ventura County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery 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 Ventura County marked.

Top counties in California

Counties in California ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Placer County, CA8522013.9$4.9M+8.9%#99 of 2,402
2San Benito County, CA803818.5$3.7M+8.6%#188 of 2,402
3El Dorado County, CA7410714.0$4.8M+0.6%#311 of 2,402
4Riverside County, CA731,24816.1$4M+5.0%#354 of 2,402
5Contra Costa County, CA7155213.3$5.3M+0.3%#402 of 2,402
6Santa Clara County, CA7092414.0$5.4M−0.9%#427 of 2,402
7Orange County, CA661,68015.5$4.4M−1.1%#550 of 2,402
8Solano County, CA6625516.2$4M+0.6%#555 of 2,402
9Amador County, CA662817.4$3.5M+3.2%#560 of 2,402
10San Diego County, CA651,80415.4$4.3M−0.6%#581 of 2,402
18Ventura County, CA5749617.7$3.8M−1.5%#894 of 2,402

Other business types in Ventura County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Ventura County, CA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 496 grocery and convenience stores in Ventura County. 227 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 244 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 8.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 132 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Ventura County, CA spend on groceries?

About $1.9B a year, or $6,757 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 496 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.8M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 280,360 households in Ventura County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Ventura County, CA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

Ventura County has 17.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.8M, 13% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Ventura County would have about 559, against 496 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,149 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is Ventura County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Ventura County at 830,851 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 280,360 households. The median household income in Ventura County is $109,797 a year, 36% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.6% 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. Ventura County scores 57 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #894 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Ventura 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 Ventura County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Ventura 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 Ventura 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.