Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Missouri
Grocery and convenience stores in the West Plains, MO area
How the West Plains, MO 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #218 of 538 scored small-town markets
#7 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Missouri
- Listings
- 33
- 11 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $84.6M
- On groceries · $5,299 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- 24% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.7
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 40,798
- +2.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the West Plains 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 West Plains area. 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
Households in the West Plains area spend about $84.6M a year on groceries, or $5,299 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 24% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There are 33 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the West Plains area as of September 2026. 11 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 20.7 for every 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the West Plains area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 2,661 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 11 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the West Plains area grew 2.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the West Plains area is 57 (upper middle), #218 of 538 scored small-town markets and #7 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Missouri.
How the West Plains 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.
| Measure | West Plains area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.7 | 17.8 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $3.3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,661 | 1,995 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.7% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.5% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,299 | $5,947 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $50,993 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6
- Employees, 2023
- 224
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3311 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25The 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 West Plains 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 West Plains area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 40,798+2.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,965
- Median age
- 41.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 927 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 44
- Median household income
- $50,993+32.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $66,539
- Median home value
- $173,000
- Jobs located here
- 15,317
- Daytime population
- 40,659Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the West Plains 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 West Plains area. 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 small-town markets in Missouri for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Missouri (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the West Plains area marked.
Top small-town markets in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warrensburg, MO | 86 | 31 | 14.7 | $3.9M | +4.9% | #6 of 538 |
| 2Kirksville, MO | 74 | 17 | 16.3 | $3.4M | +1.9% | #46 of 538 |
| 3Fort Leonard Wood, MO | 73 | 27 | 16.0 | $3.5M | +0.8% | #49 of 538 |
| 4Rolla, MO | 72 | 29 | 16.7 | $3.3M | +1.6% | #57 of 538 |
| 5Farmington, MO | 65 | 44 | 17.7 | $3.1M | +2.1% | #123 of 538 |
| 6Sedalia, MO | 64 | 36 | 21.2 | $2.6M | +2.9% | #134 of 538 |
| Quincy, IL-MO | 58 | 64 | 20.6 | $2.8M | −2.0% | #200 of 538 |
| 7West Plains, MO | 57 | 33 | 20.7 | $2.6M | +2.5% | #218 of 538 |
| 8Maryville, MO | 56 | 7 | 8.3 | $6.7M | −4.0% | #221 of 538 |
| 9Branson, MO | 50 | 53 | 23.3 | $2.4M | +1.7% | #284 of 538 |
Other business types in the West Plains area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores57
- Grocery stores44
- Convenience stores62
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 the West Plains, MO area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 33 grocery and convenience stores in the West Plains area. 11 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the West Plains, MO area spend on groceries?
About $84.6M a year, or $5,299 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,965 households in the West Plains area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the West Plains, MO area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The West Plains area has 20.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.6M, 24% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the West Plains area would have about 25, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,661 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the West Plains, MO area growing?
Population estimates put the West Plains area at 40,798 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,965 households. The median household income in the West Plains area is $50,993 a year, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.9% 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. 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 West Plains area scores 57 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #218 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 West Plains 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 West Plains area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the West Plains 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 West Plains 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.