Groceries and convenience · County · Illinois
Grocery and convenience stores in Lee County, IL
How Lee County, IL 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 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #821 of 2,402 scored counties
#29 of 85 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 21
- 8 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $78.9M
- On groceries · $5,916 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.7
- 16% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 32,914
- −3.4% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Lee 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 Lee County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 grocery and convenience stores in Lee County. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 15.7 for every 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in Lee County comes to about $78.9M a year: $5,916 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.8M of household spending for each store on map listings, 11% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Lee County was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 1,905 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.4M has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Lee County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Lee County declined 3.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Lee County is 59 (upper middle), #821 of 2,402 scored counties and #29 of 85 scored counties in Illinois.
How Lee County 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.
| Measure | Lee County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.7 | 15.0 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $4.2M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,905 | 1,442 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.8% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.4% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,916 | $6,290 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $70,292 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6 → 7
- Employees, 2023
- 135
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 218 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 23The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $1.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Lee 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 Lee County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 32,914−3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 13,337
- Median age
- 43.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 725 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $70,292+20.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $90,634
- Median home value
- $154,600
- Jobs located here
- 12,678
- Daytime population
- 30,631Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Lee 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 Lee County. 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Lee County marked.
Top counties in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kendall County, IL | 94 | 46 | 10.1 | $6.8M | +9.9% | #14 of 2,402 |
| 2Grundy County, IL | 83 | 33 | 16.0 | $4M | +2.9% | #135 of 2,402 |
| 3Will County, IL | 81 | 307 | 12.6 | $5.4M | +2.2% | #156 of 2,402 |
| 4McHenry County, IL | 80 | 142 | 12.1 | $5.6M | +2.5% | #176 of 2,402 |
| 5Monroe County, IL | 79 | 22 | 15.9 | $4.2M | −0.3% | #204 of 2,402 |
| 6Boone County, IL | 77 | 18 | 9.2 | $6.8M | +0.4% | #234 of 2,402 |
| 7Kane County, IL | 76 | 260 | 14.1 | $4.8M | +1.8% | #261 of 2,402 |
| 8Tazewell County, IL | 75 | 72 | 13.3 | $4.6M | −0.9% | #287 of 2,402 |
| 9DeKalb County, IL | 75 | 56 | 14.2 | $4.2M | +1.5% | #292 of 2,402 |
| 10Lake County, IL | 74 | 339 | 13.1 | $5.3M | +0.8% | #309 of 2,402 |
| 29Lee County, IL | 59 | 21 | 15.7 | $3.8M | −3.4% | #821 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Lee County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores59
- Grocery stores52
- Convenience stores61
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 Lee County, IL?
There are 21 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Lee County as of September 2026. 8 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Lee County, IL spend on groceries?
About $78.9M a year, or $5,916 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.8M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,337 households in Lee County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Lee County, IL compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Lee County has 15.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.8M, 11% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Lee County would have about 23, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,905 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Lee County, IL growing?
Population estimates put Lee County at 32,914 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,337 households. Median household income in Lee County is $70,292, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.8%, 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. 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. Lee County scores 59 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #821 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lee 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 Lee County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Lee 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 Lee 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.