Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Mississippi
Grocery and convenience stores in the Laurel, MS area
The grocery and convenience stores in the Laurel, MS area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 21 out of 100: Low
Ranked #489 of 538 scored small-town markets
#9 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi
- Listings
- 88
- 28 chain locations (32%)
- Official establishments
- 25
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $170.8M
- On groceries · $5,405 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.9M
- 43% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 27.8
- 49% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 82,281
- −1.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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
For grocery and convenience stores, the Laurel area has a Groundwork market score of 21 (low): #489 of 538 scored small-town markets and #9 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 88 grocery and convenience stores in the Laurel area. Of those, 28 are chain locations, or 32%, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 27.8, 49% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Households in the Laurel area spend about $170.8M a year on groceries, or $5,405 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 88 grocery and convenience stores, that is $1.9M per store, 43% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Laurel area was 25 in 2023. That is one for every 1,264 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Laurel area declined 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Laurel area compares
The same measures for Mississippi 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 | Laurel area | Mississippi | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 27.8 | 24.5 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $1.9M | $2.3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,264 | 1,439 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +23.8% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | −0.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,405 | $5,547 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $51,236 | $56,447 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 21 | 16 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 25
- Employees, 2023
- 407
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 27Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8828 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 50The 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 the Laurel 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 Laurel area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 82,281−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 31,604
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,371 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 60
- Median household income
- $51,236+26.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,808
- Median home value
- $132,900
- Jobs located here
- 32,859
- Daytime population
- 82,735Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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 Mississippi
Every Mississippi market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Mississippi for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Mississippi, with the Laurel area marked.
Top small-town markets in Mississippi
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Starkville, MS | 57 | 45 | 17.4 | $3.1M | +0.8% | #211 of 538 |
| 2Picayune, MS | 55 | 62 | 28.3 | $2M | +5.6% | #243 of 538 |
| 3Oxford, MS | 50 | 66 | 27.5 | $2.1M | +5.3% | #286 of 538 |
| 4Brookhaven, MS | 40 | 41 | 31.2 | $1.7M | +0.5% | #388 of 538 |
| 5Vicksburg, MS | 38 | 56 | 33.4 | $1.7M | −6.3% | #401 of 538 |
| 6Corinth, MS | 36 | 29 | 20.1 | $2.7M | −0.5% | #410 of 538 |
| 7Tupelo, MS | 36 | 130 | 25.1 | $2.3M | +0.8% | #411 of 538 |
| 8Meridian, MS | 23 | 83 | 24.0 | $2.2M | −3.2% | #481 of 538 |
| 9Laurel, MS | 21 | 88 | 27.8 | $1.9M | −1.5% | #489 of 538 |
| 10Natchez, MS-LA | 19 | 68 | 32.8 | $1.6M | −0.9% | #499 of 538 |
Other business types in the Laurel area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores21
- Grocery stores32
- Convenience stores21
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 Laurel, MS area?
There are 88 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Laurel area as of September 2026. 28 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 27 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Laurel, MS area spend on groceries?
About $170.8M a year, or $5,405 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 88 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.9M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 31,604 households in the Laurel area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Laurel, MS area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Laurel area has 27.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 49% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.9M, 43% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Laurel area would have about 50, against 88 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,264 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Laurel, MS area growing?
Population estimates put the Laurel area at 82,281 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 31,604 households. Median household income in the Laurel area is $51,236, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.2%, 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. 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 Laurel area scores 21 for grocery and convenience stores (low), #489 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 Laurel 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 Laurel area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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.