Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Florida

Grocery and convenience stores in Sarasota County, FL

The grocery and convenience stores in Sarasota County, FL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #201 of 2,402 scored counties
#8 of 65 scored counties in Florida

Listings
302
156 chain locations (52%)
Official establishments
138
+3.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.3B
On groceries · $6,300 a household
Spending per listing
$4.4M
31% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.2
24% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
479,958
+10.0% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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, Sarasota County has a Groundwork market score of 79 (high): #201 of 2,402 scored counties and #8 of 65 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for grocery and convenience stores.

As of September 2026, map listings count 302 grocery and convenience stores in Sarasota County. Chain locations make up 52% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 14.2 for every 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Household spending on groceries in Sarasota County comes to about $1.3B a year: $6,300 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 302 grocery and convenience stores, that is $4.4M per store, 31% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

In 2023, official counts showed 138 businesses with payroll in Sarasota County classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 3.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,538 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $6.3M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Sarasota County. Population estimates show Sarasota County grew 10.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Sarasota County compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Sarasota County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureSarasota CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.217.418.7
Spending per listing$4.4M$3.5M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,5381,2401,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.0%+9.7%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.0%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,300$6,077$6,319
Median household income$83,416$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score7958

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
134 → 138+3.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,498
Annual payroll, 2023
$185.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
73Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
302156 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
395The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$6.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
479,958+10.0% since 2020
Households
212,204
Median age
54.6
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
556 sq. mi.
People per square mile
826
Median household income
$83,416+34.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$124,732
Median home value
$411,800
Jobs located here
194,397
Daytime population
481,661Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Sarasota 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 Sarasota 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 Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Florida for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Florida, with Sarasota County marked.

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1St. Johns County, FL9018816.2$4.3M+25.0%#50 of 2,402
2Santa Rosa County, FL8910814.9$4.3M+11.7%#58 of 2,402
3Sumter County, FL888411.9$5.1M+21.1%#64 of 2,402
4Flagler County, FL887414.1$4.3M+21.0%#66 of 2,402
5Clay County, FL8711013.1$4.8M+9.4%#77 of 2,402
6Charlotte County, FL8112714.0$4.2M+15.5%#165 of 2,402
7Pasco County, FL7931313.3$4.5M+19.1%#200 of 2,402
8Sarasota County, FL7930214.2$4.4M+10.0%#201 of 2,402
9Lake County, FL7926716.2$3.7M+18.1%#209 of 2,402
10Walton County, FL787221.0$3M+22.9%#232 of 2,402

Other business types in Sarasota County

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Sarasota County, FL?

Sarasota County has 302 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 156 of them (52%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 138 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 3.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 73 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Sarasota County, FL spend on groceries?

About $1.3B a year, or $6,300 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 302 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 212,204 households in Sarasota County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Sarasota County has 14.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $4.4M, 31% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Sarasota County would have about 395, against 302 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,538 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is Sarasota County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Sarasota County at 479,958 people in 2025, up 10.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 212,204 households. Median household income in Sarasota County is $83,416, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 34.0%, 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. Sarasota County scores 79 for grocery and convenience stores (high), #201 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Sarasota 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 Sarasota 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.