Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Maine
Grocery and convenience stores in the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area
How the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #223 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 3 scored metro areas based in Maine
- Listings
- 620
- 238 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 195
- −1.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.7B
- On groceries · $7,055 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 19% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 25.8
- 38% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 577,635
- +4.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Portland-South Portland metro 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 Portland-South Portland metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 620 grocery and convenience stores in the Portland-South Portland metro area. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 25.8 per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in the Portland-South Portland metro area comes to about $1.7B a year: $7,055 per household, 12% above the U.S. average. That works out to $2.7M per store, 19% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Portland-South Portland metro area was 195 in 2023, down 1.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,231 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 76 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 17 SBA-backed loans worth $8.7M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Portland-South Portland metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Portland-South Portland metro area grew 4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Portland-South Portland metro area scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #223 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 3 scored metro areas based in Maine.
How the Portland-South Portland metro 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 | Portland-South Portland metro area | Maine | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 25.8 | 31.6 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $2.1M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,231 | 1,053 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.0% | +0.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +3.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $7,055 | $6,619 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $92,175 | $74,733 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 195−1.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 8,476
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $246.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 76Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 620238 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 500The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 17
- Amount
- $8.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Portland-South Portland metro 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 Portland-South Portland metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 577,635+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 240,027
- Median age
- 44.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 2,081 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 270
- Median household income
- $92,175+31.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $119,924
- Median home value
- $420,000
- Jobs located here
- 284,437
- Daytime population
- 573,648Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Portland-South Portland metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Portland-South Portland metro area. 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 Maine
Every Maine market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Maine for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Maine, with the Portland-South Portland metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Maine
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Portland-South Portland, ME | 47 | 620 | 25.8 | $2.7M | +4.5% | #223 of 387 |
| 2Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 39 | 118 | 25.1 | $2.5M | +4.8% | #274 of 387 |
| 3Bangor, ME | 34 | 198 | 30.4 | $2.1M | +3.8% | #306 of 387 |
Other business types in the Portland-South Portland metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores47
- Grocery stores50
- Convenience stores55
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 Portland-South Portland, ME metro area?
The Portland-South Portland metro area has 620 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 238 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 195 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, down 1.0% from 2019. Another 76 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area spend on groceries?
About $1.7B a year, or $7,055 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 620 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 240,027 households in the Portland-South Portland metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Portland-South Portland metro area has 25.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.7M, 19% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Portland-South Portland metro area would have about 500, against 620 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,231 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Portland-South Portland metro area at 577,635 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 240,027 households. Median household income in the Portland-South Portland metro area is $92,175, 14% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.2%, 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. The Portland-South Portland metro area scores 47 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #223 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Portland-South Portland metro 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 Portland-South Portland metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Portland-South Portland metro 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 Portland-South Portland metro 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.