Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Illinois

Grocery and convenience stores in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #157 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois

Listings
155
75 chain locations (48%)
Official establishments
49
+2.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$572.4M
On groceries · $5,828 a household
Spending per listing
$3.7M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.8
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
239,979
+1.5% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area. 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

At $5,828 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area spend about $572.4M a year on groceries. Spread across 155 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.7M per store, 9% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

There are 155 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Champaign-Urbana metro area as of September 2026. 75 of them (48%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 15.8 for every 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Champaign-Urbana metro area in 2023, up 2.1% from 2019. That is one for every 2,005 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 39 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $150K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Champaign-Urbana metro area.

Population estimates show the Champaign-Urbana metro area grew 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Champaign-Urbana metro area scores 56 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #157 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois.

How the Champaign-Urbana metro area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureChampaign-Urbana metro areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.815.018.7
Spending per listing$3.7M$4.2M$3.4M
Households per official establishment2,0051,4421,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.1%+4.8%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.5%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,828$6,290$6,319
Median household income$65,528$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5660

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
49+2.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,521
Annual payroll, 2023
$34.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
39Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
15575 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
169The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$150K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
239,979+1.5% since 2020
Households
98,224
Median age
36.2
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,921 sq. mi.
People per square mile
124
Median household income
$65,528
Average household income
$92,216
Median home value
$201,700
Jobs located here
101,931
Daytime population
245,150Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery and convenience stores across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Champaign-Urbana metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Bloomington, IL6410314.7$4.2M+0.1%#97 of 387
2Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN625,12114.1$4.6M0.0%#111 of 387
St. Louis, MO-IL621,87116.1$3.9M−0.2%#117 of 387
3Springfield, IL6013014.4$4.2M−1.2%#123 of 387
4Peoria, IL5822314.5$4.1M−1.3%#138 of 387
5Champaign-Urbana, IL5615515.8$3.7M+1.5%#157 of 387
6Rockford, IL5120114.8$3.9M−0.3%#192 of 387
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL4927416.9$3.5M−0.9%#207 of 387
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL437118.5$3.1M+1.7%#245 of 387
7Kankakee, IL398019.5$3.1M−1.7%#270 of 387

Other business types in the Champaign-Urbana metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 155 grocery and convenience stores in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. 75 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 2.1% from 2019. Official counts list 39 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area spend on groceries?

About $572.4M a year, or $5,828 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 155 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 98,224 households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

The Champaign-Urbana metro area has 15.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.7M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Champaign-Urbana metro area would have about 169, against 155 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,005 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Champaign-Urbana metro area at 239,979 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 98,224 households. The median household income in the Champaign-Urbana metro area is $65,528 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Champaign-Urbana metro area scores 56 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #157 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 Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana 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.