Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Indiana
Grocery and convenience stores in the Columbus, IN metro area
How the Columbus, IN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 72 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #50 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana
- Listings
- 54
- 26 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $204.5M
- On groceries · $6,130 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 12% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.2
- 13% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 85,729
- +4.3% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Columbus 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 Columbus metro area. 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 54 grocery and convenience stores in the Columbus metro area. Chain locations make up 48% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 16.2 per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Households in the Columbus metro area spend about $204.5M a year on groceries, or $6,130 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 54 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.8M per store, 12% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Columbus metro area was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 2,383 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Columbus metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Columbus metro area has a Groundwork market score of 72 (upper middle): #50 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Columbus metro area compares
The same measures for Indiana 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 | Columbus metro area | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.2 | 14.4 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $4.1M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,383 | 2,162 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.6% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,130 | $5,959 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $79,901 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 72 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 432
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5426 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 60The 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 the Columbus 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 Columbus metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 85,729+4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 33,359
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 407 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 205
- Median household income
- $79,901+26.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,124
- Median home value
- $232,800
- Jobs located here
- 52,041
- Daytime population
- 94,547Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbus 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 Columbus metro area. 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 Indiana
Every Indiana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Indiana for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Indiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Columbus metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Indiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 85 | 1,015 | 12.0 | $5.2M | +5.4% | #8 of 387 |
| 2Fort Wayne, IN | 76 | 256 | 14.1 | $4.2M | +3.9% | #27 of 387 |
| 3Columbus, IN | 72 | 54 | 16.2 | $3.8M | +4.3% | #50 of 387 |
| 4Evansville, IN | 69 | 163 | 14.3 | $4.1M | +1.6% | #62 of 387 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 67 | 1,323 | 14.6 | $4.3M | +2.7% | #72 of 387 |
| 5Bloomington, IN | 66 | 86 | 12.7 | $4.6M | +2.0% | #81 of 387 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 65 | 891 | 16.0 | $3.8M | +2.9% | #93 of 387 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 62 | 5,121 | 14.1 | $4.6M | 0.0% | #111 of 387 |
| 6Michigan City-La Porte, IN | 60 | 64 | 14.7 | $4M | −0.9% | #125 of 387 |
| 7Muncie, IN | 59 | 51 | 11.0 | $5M | +1.2% | #131 of 387 |
Other business types in the Columbus metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores72
- Grocery stores70
- Convenience stores66
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 the Columbus, IN metro area?
There are 54 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Columbus metro area as of September 2026. 26 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Columbus, IN metro area spend on groceries?
About $204.5M a year, or $6,130 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 54 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.8M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 33,359 households in the Columbus metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbus, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Columbus metro area has 16.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.8M, 12% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Columbus metro area would have about 60, against 54 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,383 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Columbus, IN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbus metro area at 85,729 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 33,359 households. Median household income in the Columbus metro area is $79,901, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.0%, 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. The Columbus metro area scores 72 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #50 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 Columbus 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 Columbus metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbus 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 Columbus 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.