Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Colorado
Grocery and convenience stores in the Sterling, CO area
How the Sterling, CO area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 28 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #463 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado
- Listings
- 21
- 2 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $44.1M
- On groceries · $5,370 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.1M
- 38% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 25.6
- 37% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 20,654
- −2.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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
For grocery and convenience stores, the Sterling area has a Groundwork market score of 28 (lower middle): #463 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
As of September 2026, map listings count 21 grocery and convenience stores in the Sterling area. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 10%, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 25.6, 37% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in the Sterling area comes to about $44.1M a year: $5,370 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each store on map listings, 38% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in the Sterling area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,641 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Sterling area declined 2.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Sterling 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 | Sterling area | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 25.6 | 16.0 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.1M | $4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,641 | 2,194 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.7% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.7% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,370 | $6,458 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $51,829 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 28 | 83 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 43
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 212 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 13The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Sterling 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 Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 20,654−2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,203
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,839 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 11
- Median household income
- $51,829−2.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,877
- Median home value
- $245,300
- Jobs located here
- 6,794
- Daytime population
- 18,497Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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 small-town markets in Colorado for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Colorado, with the Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Durango, CO | 79 | 45 | 18.5 | $3.4M | +2.2% | #21 of 538 |
| 2Rifle, CO | 72 | 75 | 23.0 | $2.8M | +1.2% | #61 of 538 |
| 3Cañon City, CO | 71 | 32 | 17.8 | $3.1M | +2.4% | #67 of 538 |
| 4Montrose, CO | 70 | 35 | 19.4 | $3M | +4.1% | #82 of 538 |
| 5Steamboat Springs, CO | 66 | 44 | 26.4 | $2.4M | +0.9% | #120 of 538 |
| 6Edwards, CO | 54 | 50 | 22.7 | $2.9M | −2.4% | #245 of 538 |
| 7Breckenridge, CO | 48 | 49 | 31.5 | $2.2M | +1.1% | #309 of 538 |
| 8Fort Morgan, CO | 47 | 29 | 26.2 | $2.2M | +4.2% | #316 of 538 |
| 9Alamosa, CO | 35 | 31 | 27.0 | $2M | +2.1% | #419 of 538 |
| 10Sterling, CO | 28 | 21 | 25.6 | $2.1M | −2.7% | #463 of 538 |
Other business types in the Sterling area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores28
- Grocery stores19
- Convenience stores28
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 Sterling, CO area?
The Sterling area has 21 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Sterling, CO area spend on groceries?
About $44.1M a year, or $5,370 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.1M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,203 households in the Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sterling, CO area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Sterling area has 25.6 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 37% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.1M, 38% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Sterling area would have about 13, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,641 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Sterling, CO area growing?
Population estimates put the Sterling area at 20,654 people in 2025, down 2.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,203 households. Median household income in the Sterling area is $51,829, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median fell 2.8%, 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 Sterling area scores 28 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #463 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 Sterling 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 Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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.