Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Kentucky

Grocery and convenience stores in the Mount Sterling, KY area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #385 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky

Listings
49
11 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$99.1M
On groceries · $5,450 a household
Spending per listing
$2M
40% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
27.0
44% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
48,428
+3.1% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 49 grocery and convenience stores in the Mount Sterling area. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 22%, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 27.0, 44% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Households in the Mount Sterling area spend about $99.1M a year on groceries, or $5,450 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2M per store, 40% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Mount Sterling area in 2023. That is one for every 1,515 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 22 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Mount Sterling area grew 3.1% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Mount Sterling area scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #385 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky.

How the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling, KY area compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureMount Sterling areaKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households27.019.418.7
Spending per listing$2M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,5151,7281,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+11.4%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.1%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,450$5,746$6,319
Median household income$55,208$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score4037

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
206
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
22Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
4911 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
29The 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 Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling area

Population, 2025 estimate
48,428+3.1% since 2020
Households
18,181
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
679 sq. mi.
People per square mile
70
Median household income
$55,208+23.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$75,334
Median home value
$151,900
Jobs located here
13,375
Daytime population
41,916Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Mount Sterling 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
12Mount Sterling, KY404927.0$2M+3.1%#385 of 538

Other business types in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling, KY area?

The Mount Sterling area has 49 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 11 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 22 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Mount Sterling, KY area spend on groceries?

About $99.1M a year, or $5,450 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,181 households in the Mount Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Mount Sterling area has 27.0 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 44% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2M, 40% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Mount Sterling area would have about 29, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,515 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is the Mount Sterling, KY area growing?

Population estimates put the Mount Sterling area at 48,428 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,181 households. Median household income in the Mount Sterling area is $55,208, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.5%, 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 Mount Sterling area scores 40 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #385 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 Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Run a site report See plans
Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Screening many markets at once? Talk to us

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.