Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Illinois

Grocery and convenience stores in the Ottawa, IL area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Ottawa, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #227 of 538 scored small-town markets
#14 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
122
43 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
40
+46.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$366.2M
On groceries · $5,920 a household
Spending per listing
$3M
11% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
19.7
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
145,902
−1.6% since 2020

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

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Survey 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 122 grocery and convenience stores in the Ottawa area. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 19.7 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

At $5,920 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the Ottawa area spend about $366.2M a year on groceries. That is about $3M of household spending for each store on map listings, 11% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

In 2023, official counts showed 40 businesses with payroll in the Ottawa area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 46.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,547 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 28 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $2.6M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Ottawa area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Ottawa area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Ottawa area scores 56 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #227 of 538 scored small-town markets and #14 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.

How the Ottawa 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 Ottawa, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureOttawa areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households19.715.018.7
Spending per listing$3M$4.2M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,5471,4421,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+46.2%+4.8%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,920$6,290$6,319
Median household income$72,230$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5660

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
40+46.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,334
Annual payroll, 2023
$29.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
28Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
12243 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
108The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$2.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa area

Population, 2025 estimate
145,902−1.6% since 2020
Households
61,866
Median age
43.0
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,164 sq. mi.
People per square mile
68
Median household income
$72,230+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$91,689
Median home value
$156,400
Jobs located here
52,301
Daytime population
131,372Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Grocery and convenience stores across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets 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 Ottawa area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Marion-Herrin, IL803712.8$4.5M+0.2%#18 of 538
2Jacksonville, IL722013.2$4.4M−3.1%#52 of 538
3Charleston-Mattoon, IL702612.5$4.4M−1.0%#72 of 538
4Lincoln, IL701715.1$3.8M−2.5%#73 of 538
5Rochelle, IL683717.8$3.4M−0.7%#99 of 538
6Dixon, IL662115.7$3.8M−3.4%#114 of 538
7Sterling, IL633414.7$3.9M−2.6%#138 of 538
8Mount Vernon, IL632617.5$3.2M−2.3%#143 of 538
Burlington, IA-IL582512.6$4.5M−2.5%#193 of 538
9Canton, IL582618.8$3M−2.0%#197 of 538
14Ottawa, IL5612219.7$3M−1.6%#227 of 538

Other business types in the Ottawa area

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

Groceries and convenience

Funeral services

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Ottawa, IL area?

There are 122 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Ottawa area as of September 2026. 43 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 40 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 46.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 28 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Ottawa, IL area spend on groceries?

About $366.2M a year, or $5,920 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 122 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 61,866 households in the Ottawa area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ottawa, IL area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

The Ottawa area has 19.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3M, 11% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Ottawa area would have about 108, against 122 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,547 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 46.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Ottawa, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Ottawa area at 145,902 people in 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 61,866 households. Median household income in the Ottawa area is $72,230, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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 Ottawa area scores 56 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #227 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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ottawa area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.