Groceries and convenience · County · Illinois
Grocery and convenience stores in Mercer County, IL
The grocery and convenience stores in Mercer County, IL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #747 of 2,402 scored counties
#21 of 85 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 10
- 3 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $39.5M
- On groceries · $6,015 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.9M
- 17% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.2
- 19% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 15,229
- −2.6% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Mercer 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 Mercer 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
At $6,015 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in Mercer County spend about $39.5M a year on groceries. That is about $3.9M of household spending for each store on map listings, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
Mercer County has 10 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 30%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 15.2 per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for grocery and convenience stores in Mercer County, since they leave out counts under 3.
Population estimates show Mercer County declined 2.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For grocery and convenience stores, Mercer County has a Groundwork market score of 61 (upper middle): #747 of 2,402 scored counties and #21 of 85 scored counties in Illinois.
How Mercer 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 | Mercer County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.2 | 15.0 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.9M | $4.2M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,442 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.8% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,015 | $6,290 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $74,182 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 103 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 15,229−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 6,565
- Median age
- 43.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 84%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 561 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 28
- Median household income
- $74,182+24.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,846
- Median home value
- $146,700
- Jobs located here
- 3,052
- Daytime population
- 11,354Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Mercer 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 Mercer 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 Mercer 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 |
| 21Mercer County, IL | 61 | 10 | 15.2 | $3.9M | −2.6% | #747 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Mercer County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores61
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores
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 Mercer County, IL?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 grocery and convenience stores in Mercer County. 3 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. No official count is published for grocery and convenience stores in Mercer County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Mercer County, IL spend on groceries?
About $39.5M a year, or $6,015 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.9M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,565 households in Mercer County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Mercer County, IL compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Mercer County has 15.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.9M, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Mercer County would have about 12, against 10 on map listings.
How fast is Mercer County, IL growing?
Population estimates put Mercer County at 15,229 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,565 households. The median household income in Mercer County is $74,182 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.1% 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. Mercer County scores 61 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #747 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mercer 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 Mercer County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Mercer 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 Mercer 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.