Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Kentucky

Grocery and convenience stores in Rowan County, KY

How Rowan County, KY 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 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #1,024 of 2,402 scored counties
#33 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
17
5 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$51.9M
On groceries · $5,406 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.7
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
24,476
−1.0% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 grocery and convenience stores in Rowan County. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.7, 5% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

At $5,406 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in Rowan County spend about $51.9M a year on groceries. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each store on map listings, 10% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in Rowan County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 3,197 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 4 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $475K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Rowan County.

Population estimates show Rowan County declined 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Rowan County is 54 (upper middle), #1,024 of 2,402 scored counties and #33 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Rowan County 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 Rowan County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureRowan CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.719.418.7
Spending per listing$3.1M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment3,1971,7281,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+11.4%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.0%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,406$5,746$6,319
Median household income$54,321$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5437

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
136
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
4Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
175 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$475K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Rowan 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 Rowan County

Population, 2025 estimate
24,476−1.0% since 2020
Households
9,592
Median age
34.4
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
280 sq. mi.
People per square mile
88
Median household income
$54,321+42.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$75,885
Median home value
$161,800
Jobs located here
10,474
Daytime population
25,662Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Rowan 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 Rowan 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Oldham County, KY942510.9$6.5M+4.9%#15 of 2,402
2Scott County, KY873615.9$4M+8.2%#83 of 2,402
3Bullitt County, KY864413.9$4.4M+5.0%#91 of 2,402
4Spencer County, KY851317.8$3.7M+7.7%#104 of 2,402
5Meade County, KY84109.1$6.7M+2.2%#106 of 2,402
6Madison County, KY844211.3$5.1M+9.4%#111 of 2,402
7Boone County, KY848817.3$3.8M+6.5%#117 of 2,402
8Anderson County, KY831414.5$4.1M+5.5%#134 of 2,402
9Jessamine County, KY833216.1$3.8M+7.8%#137 of 2,402
10Kenton County, KY798512.6$4.9M+3.9%#196 of 2,402
33Rowan County, KY541717.7$3.1M−1.0%#1,024 of 2,402

Other business types in Rowan County

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Rowan County, KY?

There are 17 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Rowan County as of September 2026. 5 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Rowan County, KY spend on groceries?

About $51.9M a year, or $5,406 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.1M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,592 households in Rowan County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Rowan County has 17.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.1M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Rowan County would have about 15, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,197 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Rowan County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Rowan County at 24,476 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,592 households. Median household income in Rowan County is $54,321, 33% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 42.1%, 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. Rowan County scores 54 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #1,024 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rowan 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 Rowan 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.