Groceries and convenience · County · Missouri
Grocery and convenience stores in Howard County, MO
The grocery and convenience stores in Howard County, MO, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,285 of 2,402 scored counties
#47 of 85 scored counties in Missouri
- Listings
- 7
- 1 chain location (14%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $20.5M
- On groceries · $5,730 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.9M
- 13% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.5
- 4% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 10,180
- +0.3% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Howard 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 Howard 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 7 grocery and convenience stores in Howard County. One of them (14%) is a chain location, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 19.5 for every 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in Howard County comes to about $20.5M a year: $5,730 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 7 grocery and convenience stores, that is $2.9M per store, 13% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Howard County: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Population estimates put the population change in Howard County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Howard County is 48 (lower middle), #1,285 of 2,402 scored counties and #47 of 85 scored counties in Missouri.
How Howard 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 | Howard County | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.5 | 17.8 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.9M | $3.3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,995 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.7% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.3% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,730 | $5,947 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $65,938 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 71 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The 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 Howard 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 Howard County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 10,180+0.3% since 2020
- Households
- 3,585
- Median age
- 39.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 464 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 22
- Median household income
- $65,938+25.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,071
- Median home value
- $159,400
- Jobs located here
- 2,720
- Daytime population
- 8,278Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Howard 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 Howard 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 Howard 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 |
| 47Howard County, MO | 48 | 7 | 19.5 | $2.9M | +0.3% | #1,285 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Howard County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores48
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores
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 Howard County, MO?
Howard County has 7 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (14%) is a chain location. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. No official count is published for grocery and convenience stores in Howard County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Howard County, MO spend on groceries?
About $20.5M a year, or $5,730 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.9M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,585 households in Howard County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Howard County, MO compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Howard County has 19.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.9M, 13% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Howard County would have about 6, against 7 on map listings.
How fast is Howard County, MO growing?
Population estimates put Howard County at 10,180 people in 2025, up 0.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,585 households. Median household income in Howard County is $65,938, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.1%, 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. Howard County scores 48 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #1,285 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Howard 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 Howard County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Howard 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 Howard 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.