Groceries and convenience · County · Kentucky
Grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County, KY
How Shelby 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 76 out of 100: High
Ranked #278 of 2,402 scored counties
#13 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky
- Listings
- 33
- 11 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $114.3M
- On groceries · $6,184 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.5M
- 2% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 17.9
- 4% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 51,243
- +6.2% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Shelby 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 Shelby County. 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
Household spending on groceries in Shelby County comes to about $114.3M a year: $6,184 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.5M per store, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
Shelby County has 33 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 33%, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.9, 4% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County in 2023. That is one for every 2,054 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Shelby County grew 6.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, Shelby County has a Groundwork market score of 76 (high): #278 of 2,402 scored counties and #13 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Shelby 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.
| Measure | Shelby County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 17.9 | 19.4 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.5M | $3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,054 | 1,728 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.4% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.2% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,184 | $5,746 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $82,604 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 76 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8 → 9
- Employees, 2023
- 316
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $9.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3311 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 34The 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 51,243+6.2% since 2020
- Households
- 18,484
- Median age
- 41.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 380 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 129
- Median household income
- $82,604+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,252
- Median home value
- $304,800
- Jobs located here
- 16,455
- Daytime population
- 41,644Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Shelby 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 Shelby County. 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Shelby County marked.
Top counties in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Oldham County, KY | 94 | 25 | 10.9 | $6.5M | +4.9% | #15 of 2,402 |
| 2Scott County, KY | 87 | 36 | 15.9 | $4M | +8.2% | #83 of 2,402 |
| 3Bullitt County, KY | 86 | 44 | 13.9 | $4.4M | +5.0% | #91 of 2,402 |
| 4Spencer County, KY | 85 | 13 | 17.8 | $3.7M | +7.7% | #104 of 2,402 |
| 5Meade County, KY | 84 | 10 | 9.1 | $6.7M | +2.2% | #106 of 2,402 |
| 6Madison County, KY | 84 | 42 | 11.3 | $5.1M | +9.4% | #111 of 2,402 |
| 7Boone County, KY | 84 | 88 | 17.3 | $3.8M | +6.5% | #117 of 2,402 |
| 8Anderson County, KY | 83 | 14 | 14.5 | $4.1M | +5.5% | #134 of 2,402 |
| 9Jessamine County, KY | 83 | 32 | 16.1 | $3.8M | +7.8% | #137 of 2,402 |
| 10Kenton County, KY | 79 | 85 | 12.6 | $4.9M | +3.9% | #196 of 2,402 |
| 13Shelby County, KY | 76 | 33 | 17.9 | $3.5M | +6.2% | #278 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Shelby County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores76
- Grocery stores78
- Convenience stores81
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 Shelby County, KY?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 33 grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County. 11 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Shelby County, KY spend on groceries?
About $114.3M a year, or $6,184 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.5M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,484 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Shelby County, KY compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Shelby County has 17.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.5M, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Shelby County would have about 34, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,054 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Shelby County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Shelby County at 51,243 people in 2025, up 6.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,484 households. The median household income in Shelby County is $82,604 a year, 2% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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. Shelby County scores 76 for grocery and convenience stores (high), #278 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Shelby 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 Shelby County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby 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 Shelby 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.