Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Missouri

Grocery and convenience stores in Carter County, MO

The grocery and convenience stores in Carter County, MO, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
6
2 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.7M
On groceries · $5,237 a household
Spending per listing
$1.8M
47% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.4
57% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,418
+4.2% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Carter 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 Carter County. 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

At $5,237 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in Carter County spend about $10.7M a year on groceries. That is about $1.8M of household spending for each store on map listings, 47% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Carter County has 6 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 29.4 per 10,000 households, 57% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Carter County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 510 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Carter County grew 4.2% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Carter County compares

The same measures for Missouri 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 Carter County, MO compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureCarter CountyMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.417.818.7
Spending per listing$1.8M$3.3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment5101,9951,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.7%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.2%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,237$5,947$6,319
Median household income$50,000$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored51

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 4
Employees, 2023
78
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
62 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3The 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 Carter 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 Carter County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,418+4.2% since 2020
Households
2,038
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
507 sq. mi.
People per square mile
10
Median household income
$50,000
Average household income
$63,722
Median home value
$159,400
Jobs located here
1,403
Daytime population
4,806Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Grocery and convenience stores across Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Missouri for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Missouri, with Carter County marked.

Top counties in Missouri

Counties in Missouri ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Platte County, MO924610.5$6.3M+6.7%#30 of 2,402
2Lincoln County, MO923113.6$4.6M+11.4%#34 of 2,402
3Cass County, MO915312.3$5.2M+7.1%#38 of 2,402
4St. Charles County, MO9023114.3$4.7M+4.9%#49 of 2,402
5Christian County, MO894312.2$5M+8.3%#54 of 2,402
6Clay County, MO8812011.7$5.4M+4.3%#63 of 2,402
7Jefferson County, MO8312714.4$4.3M+2.7%#128 of 2,402
8Warren County, MO812417.3$3.6M+9.2%#173 of 2,402
9Boone County, MO8011715.3$3.9M+4.2%#184 of 2,402
10Johnson County, MO783114.7$3.9M+4.9%#226 of 2,402
Carter County, MONot scored629.4$1.8M+4.2%

Other business types in Carter County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Carter County, MO?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 grocery and convenience stores in Carter County. 2 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in Carter County, MO spend on groceries?

About $10.7M a year, or $5,237 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.8M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,038 households in Carter County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Carter County, MO compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

Carter County has 29.4 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 57% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.8M, 47% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Carter County would have about 3, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 510 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Carter County, MO growing?

Population estimates put Carter County at 5,418 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,038 households. The median household income in Carter County is $50,000 a year, 38% 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. 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Carter 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 Carter County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Carter 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 Carter 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.