Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Mississippi

Grocery and convenience stores in the Tupelo, MS area

How the Tupelo, MS area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #411 of 538 scored small-town markets
#7 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi

Listings
130
43 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
56
+43.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$292.8M
On groceries · $5,652 a household
Spending per listing
$2.3M
34% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
25.1
34% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
133,167
+0.8% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Tupelo 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 Tupelo area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 Tupelo area has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #411 of 538 scored small-town markets and #7 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 130 grocery and convenience stores in the Tupelo area. Of those, 43 are chain locations, or 33%, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 25.1 for every 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Household spending on groceries in the Tupelo area comes to about $292.8M a year: $5,652 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.3M per store, 34% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Tupelo area was 56 in 2023, up 43.6% from 2019. That is one for every 925 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Tupelo area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Tupelo 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Tupelo, MS area compared with Mississippi and the U.S.
MeasureTupelo areaMississippiU.S.
Listings per 10k households25.124.518.7
Spending per listing$2.3M$2.3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment9251,4391,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+43.6%+23.8%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.8%−0.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,652$5,547$6,319
Median household income$63,170$56,447$80,734
Groundwork market score3616

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
56+43.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
950
Annual payroll, 2023
$25.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
39Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
13043 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
86The 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 Tupelo 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 Tupelo area

Population, 2025 estimate
133,167+0.8% since 2020
Households
51,805
Median age
38.4
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,398 sq. mi.
People per square mile
95
Median household income
$63,170
Average household income
$84,752
Median home value
$170,600
Jobs located here
68,715
Daytime population
143,876Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Tupelo 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 Tupelo area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery 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 Tupelo area marked.

Top small-town markets in Mississippi

Small-town markets in Mississippi ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Starkville, MS574517.4$3.1M+0.8%#211 of 538
2Picayune, MS556228.3$2M+5.6%#243 of 538
3Oxford, MS506627.5$2.1M+5.3%#286 of 538
4Brookhaven, MS404131.2$1.7M+0.5%#388 of 538
5Vicksburg, MS385633.4$1.7M−6.3%#401 of 538
6Corinth, MS362920.1$2.7M−0.5%#410 of 538
7Tupelo, MS3613025.1$2.3M+0.8%#411 of 538
8Meridian, MS238324.0$2.2M−3.2%#481 of 538
9Laurel, MS218827.8$1.9M−1.5%#489 of 538
10Natchez, MS-LA196832.8$1.6M−0.9%#499 of 538

Other business types in the Tupelo area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Tupelo, MS area?

There are 130 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Tupelo area as of September 2026. 43 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 56 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 43.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 39 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Tupelo, MS area spend on groceries?

About $292.8M a year, or $5,652 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 130 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 51,805 households in the Tupelo area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Tupelo, MS area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

The Tupelo area has 25.1 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.3M, 34% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Tupelo area would have about 86, against 130 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 925 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 43.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Tupelo, MS area growing?

Population estimates put the Tupelo area at 133,167 people in 2025, up 0.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 51,805 households. Median household income in the Tupelo area is $63,170, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Tupelo area scores 36 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #411 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 Tupelo 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 Tupelo area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Tupelo 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 Tupelo 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.