Groceries and convenience · County · Maine
Grocery and convenience stores in Waldo County, ME
How Waldo County, ME 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 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,730 of 2,402 scored counties
#9 of 16 scored counties in Maine
- Listings
- 70
- 17 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $112.4M
- On groceries · $6,437 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.6M
- 53% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 40.1
- 2.1 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 40,693
- +2.6% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Waldo 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 Waldo 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 70 grocery and convenience stores in Waldo County. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 40.1, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $6,437 per household (2% above the U.S. average), households in Waldo County spend about $112.4M a year on groceries. That is about $1.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 53% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Waldo County in 2023. That is one for every 1,028 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 Waldo County grew 2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Waldo County scores 37 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #1,730 of 2,402 scored counties and #9 of 16 scored counties in Maine.
How Waldo County 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 | Waldo County | Maine | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 40.1 | 31.6 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $1.6M | $2.1M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,028 | 1,053 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.6% | +3.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,437 | $6,619 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $72,782 | $74,733 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17 → 17
- Employees, 2023
- 482
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7017 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 33The 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 Waldo 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 Waldo County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 40,693+2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 17,470
- Median age
- 46.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 730 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 55
- Median household income
- $72,782+40.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,541
- Median home value
- $257,700
- Jobs located here
- 11,338
- Daytime population
- 35,620Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Waldo 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 Waldo 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 Maine
Every Maine market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Maine for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Maine, with Waldo County marked.
Top counties in Maine
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sagadahoc County, ME | 70 | 38 | 23.1 | $3M | +3.4% | #453 of 2,402 |
| 2York County, ME | 61 | 237 | 25.9 | $2.7M | +4.8% | #774 of 2,402 |
| 3Cumberland County, ME | 59 | 345 | 26.1 | $2.7M | +4.5% | #841 of 2,402 |
| 4Androscoggin County, ME | 53 | 118 | 25.1 | $2.5M | +4.8% | #1,089 of 2,402 |
| 5Kennebec County, ME | 51 | 154 | 28.4 | $2.3M | +3.5% | #1,183 of 2,402 |
| 6Oxford County, ME | 50 | 76 | 31.5 | $2M | +4.2% | #1,225 of 2,402 |
| 7Penobscot County, ME | 46 | 198 | 30.4 | $2.1M | +3.8% | #1,373 of 2,402 |
| 8Piscataquis County, ME | 41 | 35 | 41.7 | $1.5M | +3.5% | #1,579 of 2,402 |
| 9Waldo County, ME | 37 | 70 | 40.1 | $1.6M | +2.6% | #1,730 of 2,402 |
| 10Somerset County, ME | 36 | 73 | 31.5 | $1.9M | +2.3% | #1,758 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Waldo County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores37
- Grocery stores39
- Convenience stores48
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 Waldo County, ME?
There are 70 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Waldo County as of September 2026. 17 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 17 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 Waldo County, ME spend on groceries?
About $112.4M a year, or $6,437 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 70 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,470 households in Waldo County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Waldo County, ME compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Waldo County has 40.1 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.6M, 53% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Waldo County would have about 33, against 70 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,028 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Waldo County, ME growing?
Population estimates put Waldo County at 40,693 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 17,470 households. Median household income in Waldo County is $72,782, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 40.2%, 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. Waldo County scores 37 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #1,730 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Waldo 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 Waldo County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Waldo 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 Waldo 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.