Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Colorado
Grocery and convenience stores in the Boulder, CO metro area
How the Boulder, CO 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 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #40 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 7 scored metro areas based in Colorado
- Listings
- 203
- 99 chain locations (49%)
- Official establishments
- 65
- −4.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $914.2M
- On groceries · $6,672 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.5M
- 33% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.8
- 21% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 328,560
- −0.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Boulder 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 Boulder 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
Household spending on groceries in the Boulder metro area comes to about $914.2M a year: $6,672 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. Spread across 203 grocery and convenience stores, that is $4.5M per store, 33% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Boulder metro area has 203 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 49% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 14.8, 21% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 65 businesses with payroll in the Boulder metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, down 4.4% from 2019. That is one for every 2,108 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 $20K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Boulder metro area.
Population estimates show the Boulder metro area declined 0.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Boulder metro area scores 73 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #40 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 7 scored metro areas based in Colorado. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Boulder metro area compares
The same measures for Colorado 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 | Boulder metro area | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.8 | 16.0 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $4.5M | $4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,108 | 2,194 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −4.4% | +5.7% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.7% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,672 | $6,458 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $103,994 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 83 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 65−4.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,646
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $139.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 40Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 20399 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 270The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $20K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Boulder 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 Boulder metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 328,560−0.7% since 2020
- Households
- 137,008
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 726 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 453
- Median household income
- $103,994+25.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $148,846
- Median home value
- $756,300
- Jobs located here
- 190,563
- Daytime population
- 376,803Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Boulder 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 Boulder 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 Colorado
Every Colorado market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Colorado for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Colorado, with the Boulder metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Greeley, CO | 91 | 186 | 15.0 | $4.3M | +14.2% | #2 of 387 |
| 2Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | 87 | 217 | 14.1 | $4.5M | +4.8% | #6 of 387 |
| 3Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 85 | 1,719 | 14.1 | $4.7M | +4.1% | #9 of 387 |
| 4Colorado Springs, CO | 82 | 414 | 13.7 | $4.6M | +3.1% | #15 of 387 |
| 5Boulder, CO | 73 | 203 | 14.8 | $4.5M | −0.7% | #40 of 387 |
| 6Pueblo, CO | 53 | 111 | 16.2 | $3.5M | +0.6% | #180 of 387 |
| 7Grand Junction, CO | 53 | 146 | 22.2 | $2.7M | +4.4% | #184 of 387 |
Other business types in the Boulder 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 stores73
- Grocery stores68
- Convenience stores76
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 Boulder, CO metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 203 grocery and convenience stores in the Boulder metro area. 99 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 65 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, down 4.4% from 2019. Another 40 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Boulder, CO metro area spend on groceries?
About $914.2M a year, or $6,672 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 203 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.5M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 137,008 households in the Boulder metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Boulder, CO metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Boulder metro area has 14.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $4.5M, 33% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Boulder metro area would have about 270, against 203 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,108 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Boulder, CO metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Boulder metro area at 328,560 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 137,008 households. The median household income in the Boulder metro area is $103,994 a year, 29% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.3% 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 Boulder metro area scores 73 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #40 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 Boulder 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 Boulder metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Boulder 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 Boulder 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.