Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Missouri

Grocery and convenience stores in the Joplin, MO-KS metro area

How the Joplin, MO-KS metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #265 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri

Listings
178
82 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
37
+8.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$447.1M
On groceries · $5,623 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
22.4
20% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
208,796
+3.9% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Joplin metro 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 Joplin metro 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

At $5,623 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in the Joplin metro area spend about $447.1M a year on groceries. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each store on map listings, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

There are 178 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Joplin metro area as of September 2026. 82 of them (46%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 22.4, 20% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

In 2023, official counts showed 37 businesses with payroll in the Joplin metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 8.8% from 2019. That is one for every 2,149 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 24 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $482K have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Joplin metro area.

Population estimates show the Joplin metro area grew 3.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Joplin metro area scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #265 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.

How the Joplin metro area 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 Joplin, MO-KS metro area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureJoplin metro areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households22.417.818.7
Spending per listing$2.5M$3.3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment2,1491,9951,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.8%+0.7%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,623$5,947$6,319
Median household income$61,901$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score4051

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
37+8.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
882
Annual payroll, 2023
$22.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
24Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
17882 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
132The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$482K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Joplin metro 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 Joplin metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
208,796+3.9% since 2020
Households
79,505
Median age
38.9
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,851 sq. mi.
People per square mile
110
Median household income
$61,901
Average household income
$80,895
Median home value
$165,500
Jobs located here
85,555
Daytime population
203,238Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Joplin metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Joplin metro 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 Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Missouri for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the Joplin metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Missouri

Metro areas in Missouri ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kansas City, MO-KS801,23513.8$4.6M+3.4%#19 of 387
2Springfield, MO6929815.0$3.8M+5.1%#66 of 387
3Columbia, MO6614416.7$3.6M+3.9%#88 of 387
4St. Louis, MO-IL621,87116.1$3.9M−0.2%#117 of 387
5Jefferson City, MO5610317.6$3.4M+2.2%#160 of 387
6Cape Girardeau, MO-IL437118.5$3.1M+1.7%#245 of 387
7Joplin, MO-KS4017822.4$2.5M+3.9%#265 of 387
8St. Joseph, MO-KS2810221.8$2.6M−2.0%#333 of 387

Other business types in the Joplin metro 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 Joplin, MO-KS metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 178 grocery and convenience stores in the Joplin metro area. 82 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 24 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Joplin, MO-KS metro area spend on groceries?

About $447.1M a year, or $5,623 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 178 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 79,505 households in the Joplin metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Joplin, MO-KS metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

The Joplin metro area has 22.4 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.5M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Joplin metro area would have about 132, against 178 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,149 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Joplin, MO-KS metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Joplin metro area at 208,796 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 79,505 households. The median household income in the Joplin metro area is $61,901 a year, 23% 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 Joplin metro area scores 40 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #265 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Joplin metro 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 Joplin metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Joplin metro 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 Joplin metro 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.