Groceries and convenience · County · Missouri
Grocery and convenience stores in Cole County, MO
How Cole County, MO 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 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #351 of 2,402 scored counties
#13 of 85 scored counties in Missouri
- Listings
- 46
- 21 chain locations (46%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $188M
- On groceries · $6,047 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.1M
- 21% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.8
- 21% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 77,908
- +1.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Cole 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 Cole 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
Household spending on groceries in Cole County comes to about $188M a year: $6,047 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Spread across 46 grocery and convenience stores, that is $4.1M per store, 21% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There are 46 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Cole County as of September 2026. Of those, 21 are chain locations, or 46%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 14.8 per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Cole County in 2023. That is one for every 2,072 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates show Cole County grew 1.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Cole County scores 73 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #351 of 2,402 scored counties and #13 of 85 scored counties in Missouri. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Cole 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.
| Measure | Cole County | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.8 | 17.8 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $4.1M | $3.3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,072 | 1,995 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.7% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,047 | $5,947 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $74,876 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 13 → 15
- Employees, 2023
- 879
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $18.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 12Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4621 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 56The 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 Cole 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 Cole County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 77,908+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 31,086
- Median age
- 40.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 392 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 197
- Median household income
- $74,876+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $95,025
- Median home value
- $229,600
- Jobs located here
- 56,757
- Daytime population
- 96,838Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Cole 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 Cole 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 Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Missouri for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Missouri, with Cole County marked.
Top counties in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Platte County, MO | 92 | 46 | 10.5 | $6.3M | +6.7% | #30 of 2,402 |
| 2Lincoln County, MO | 92 | 31 | 13.6 | $4.6M | +11.4% | #34 of 2,402 |
| 3Cass County, MO | 91 | 53 | 12.3 | $5.2M | +7.1% | #38 of 2,402 |
| 4St. Charles County, MO | 90 | 231 | 14.3 | $4.7M | +4.9% | #49 of 2,402 |
| 5Christian County, MO | 89 | 43 | 12.2 | $5M | +8.3% | #54 of 2,402 |
| 6Clay County, MO | 88 | 120 | 11.7 | $5.4M | +4.3% | #63 of 2,402 |
| 7Jefferson County, MO | 83 | 127 | 14.4 | $4.3M | +2.7% | #128 of 2,402 |
| 8Warren County, MO | 81 | 24 | 17.3 | $3.6M | +9.2% | #173 of 2,402 |
| 9Boone County, MO | 80 | 117 | 15.3 | $3.9M | +4.2% | #184 of 2,402 |
| 10Johnson County, MO | 78 | 31 | 14.7 | $3.9M | +4.9% | #226 of 2,402 |
| 13Cole County, MO | 73 | 46 | 14.8 | $4.1M | +1.7% | #351 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Cole County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores73
- Grocery stores75
- Convenience stores67
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 Cole County, MO?
As of September 2026, map listings count 46 grocery and convenience stores in Cole County. 21 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts list 12 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Cole County, MO spend on groceries?
About $188M a year, or $6,047 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 46 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.1M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 31,086 households in Cole County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Cole County, MO compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Cole County has 14.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $4.1M, 21% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Cole County would have about 56, against 46 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,072 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Cole County, MO growing?
Population estimates put Cole County at 77,908 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 31,086 households. The median household income in Cole County is $74,876 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.7% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Cole County scores 73 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #351 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cole 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 Cole County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Cole 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 Cole 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.