Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Kentucky

Grocery and convenience stores in the Middlesborough, KY area

How the Middlesborough, KY area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 7 out of 100: Very low

Ranked #535 of 538 scored small-town markets
#15 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky

Listings
30
18 chain locations (60%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$47.6M
On groceries · $4,792 a household
Spending per listing
$1.6M
53% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
30.2
61% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
22,829
−4.8% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough 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

The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Middlesborough area is 7 (very low), #535 of 538 scored small-town markets and #15 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 30 grocery and convenience stores in the Middlesborough area. Of those, 18 are chain locations, or 60%, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 30.2 for every 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Households in the Middlesborough area spend about $47.6M a year on groceries, or $4,792 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.6M per store, 53% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Middlesborough area in 2023. That is one for every 994 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Middlesborough area declined 4.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Middlesborough area compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Middlesborough, KY area compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureMiddlesborough areaKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households30.219.418.7
Spending per listing$1.6M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment9941,7281,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+11.4%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.8%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$4,792$5,746$6,319
Median household income$31,354$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score737

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10
Employees, 2023
341
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3018 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The 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 Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area

Population, 2025 estimate
22,829−4.8% since 2020
Households
9,939
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
359 sq. mi.
People per square mile
65
Median household income
$31,354+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$49,259
Median home value
$89,000
Jobs located here
7,622
Daytime population
23,467Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kentucky for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with the Middlesborough area marked.

Top small-town markets in Kentucky

Small-town markets in Kentucky ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Frankfort, KY883912.0$4.9M+3.1%#3 of 538
2Richmond-Berea, KY846913.9$4M+7.0%#11 of 538
3Franklin, KY691316.2$3.5M+5.9%#88 of 538
4Murray, KY672516.4$3.3M+4.9%#108 of 538
5Danville, KY644018.4$3M+3.6%#132 of 538
6Campbellsville, KY623020.4$2.7M+3.4%#162 of 538
7Mayfield, KY493021.2$2.5M+1.4%#290 of 538
8Glasgow, KY485424.4$2.2M+2.6%#306 of 538
9Henderson, KY465121.8$2.6M−0.9%#319 of 538
10Madisonville, KY444323.4$2.3M−0.5%#339 of 538
15Middlesborough, KY73030.2$1.6M−4.8%#535 of 538

Other business types in the Middlesborough area

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Middlesborough, KY area?

There are 30 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Middlesborough area as of September 2026. 18 of them (60%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 10 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 the Middlesborough, KY area spend on groceries?

About $47.6M a year, or $4,792 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 30 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,939 households in the Middlesborough area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Middlesborough area has 30.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.6M, 53% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Middlesborough area would have about 14, against 30 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 994 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is the Middlesborough, KY area growing?

Population estimates put the Middlesborough area at 22,829 people in 2025, down 4.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,939 households. Median household income in the Middlesborough area is $31,354, 61% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.3%, 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 Middlesborough area scores 7 for grocery and convenience stores (very low), #535 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 Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough 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.