Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Maine
Grocery and convenience stores in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area
The grocery and convenience stores in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #232 of 538 scored small-town markets
The only scored small-town market based in Maine
- Listings
- 154
- 56 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 42
- +5.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $348.1M
- On groceries · $6,410 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.3M
- 33% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 28.4
- 52% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 129,067
- +3.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville 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
Households in the Augusta-Waterville area spend about $348.1M a year on groceries, or $6,410 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 154 grocery and convenience stores, that is $2.3M per store, 33% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Augusta-Waterville area has 154 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 56 are chain locations, or 36%, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 28.4 for every 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 42 businesses with payroll in the Augusta-Waterville area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 5.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,293 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 14 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $100K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Augusta-Waterville area.
Population estimates show the Augusta-Waterville area grew 3.5% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Augusta-Waterville area is 56 (upper middle), #232 of 538 scored small-town markets and the only scored small-town market based in Maine.
How the Augusta-Waterville area compares
The same measures for Maine 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 | Augusta-Waterville area | Maine | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 28.4 | 31.6 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.3M | $2.1M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,293 | 1,053 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.0% | +0.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.5% | +3.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,410 | $6,619 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $69,077 | $74,733 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 42+5.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,846
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $48.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 14Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 15456 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 103The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $100K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 129,067+3.5% since 2020
- Households
- 54,312
- Median age
- 43.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 868 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 146
- Median household income
- $69,077+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $88,742
- Median home value
- $238,200
- Jobs located here
- 65,677
- Daytime population
- 134,017Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOther business types in the Augusta-Waterville area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores56
- Grocery stores75
- Convenience stores54
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 Augusta-Waterville, ME area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 154 grocery and convenience stores in the Augusta-Waterville area. 56 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 5.0% from 2019. Another 14 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area spend on groceries?
About $348.1M a year, or $6,410 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 154 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 54,312 households in the Augusta-Waterville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Augusta-Waterville, ME area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Augusta-Waterville area has 28.4 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.3M, 33% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Augusta-Waterville area would have about 103, against 154 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,293 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Augusta-Waterville, ME area growing?
Population estimates put the Augusta-Waterville area at 129,067 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 54,312 households. The median household income in the Augusta-Waterville area is $69,077 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.8% 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. 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 Augusta-Waterville area scores 56 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #232 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 Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville 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.