Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Illinois

Grocery and convenience stores in Whiteside County, IL

How Whiteside 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 58 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #855 of 2,402 scored counties
#32 of 85 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
34
12 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$133.3M
On groceries · $5,763 a household
Spending per listing
$3.9M
16% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.7
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
54,121
−2.6% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Whiteside 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 Whiteside County. 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

Household spending on groceries in Whiteside County comes to about $133.3M a year: $5,763 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.9M of household spending for each store on map listings, 16% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

There are 34 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Whiteside County as of September 2026. 12 of them (35%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 14.7, 21% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in Whiteside County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,778 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 13 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Whiteside County declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Whiteside County is 58 (upper middle), #855 of 2,402 scored counties and #32 of 85 scored counties in Illinois.

How Whiteside 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Whiteside County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureWhiteside CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.715.018.7
Spending per listing$3.9M$4.2M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,7781,4421,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.8%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,763$6,290$6,319
Median household income$67,500$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5860

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11 → 13
Employees, 2023
294
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
13Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3412 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
39The 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 Whiteside 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 Whiteside County

Population, 2025 estimate
54,121−2.6% since 2020
Households
23,120
Median age
43.5
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
684 sq. mi.
People per square mile
80
Median household income
$67,500+24.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,592
Median home value
$127,100
Jobs located here
20,819
Daytime population
50,543Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Whiteside 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 Whiteside 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

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

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kendall County, IL944610.1$6.8M+9.9%#14 of 2,402
2Grundy County, IL833316.0$4M+2.9%#135 of 2,402
3Will County, IL8130712.6$5.4M+2.2%#156 of 2,402
4McHenry County, IL8014212.1$5.6M+2.5%#176 of 2,402
5Monroe County, IL792215.9$4.2M−0.3%#204 of 2,402
6Boone County, IL77189.2$6.8M+0.4%#234 of 2,402
7Kane County, IL7626014.1$4.8M+1.8%#261 of 2,402
8Tazewell County, IL757213.3$4.6M−0.9%#287 of 2,402
9DeKalb County, IL755614.2$4.2M+1.5%#292 of 2,402
10Lake County, IL7433913.1$5.3M+0.8%#309 of 2,402
32Whiteside County, IL583414.7$3.9M−2.6%#855 of 2,402

Other business types in Whiteside County

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Whiteside County, IL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 34 grocery and convenience stores in Whiteside County. 12 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Whiteside County, IL spend on groceries?

About $133.3M a year, or $5,763 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 34 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.9M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,120 households in Whiteside County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Whiteside County has 14.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.9M, 16% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Whiteside County would have about 39, against 34 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,778 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Whiteside County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Whiteside County at 54,121 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 23,120 households. The median household income in Whiteside County is $67,500 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.5% 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. Whiteside County scores 58 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #855 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Whiteside 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 Whiteside 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.