Groceries and convenience · County · Nebraska
Grocery and convenience stores in Howard County, NE
How Howard County, NE compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 10
- 5 chain locations (50%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.1M
- On groceries · $6,043 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.5M
- 55% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 39.9
- 2.1 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 6,538
- +0.8% 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 10 grocery and convenience stores in Howard County. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 39.9 for every 10,000 households, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $6,043 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in Howard County spend about $15.1M a year on groceries. That is about $1.5M of household spending for each store on map listings, 55% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Howard County was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 835 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $2M has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Howard County.
Population estimates show Howard County grew 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, slower 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 Howard County compares
The same measures for Nebraska 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 | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 39.9 | 19.5 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $1.5M | $3.1M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 835 | 1,662 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.5% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.8% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,043 | $6,088 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $76,767 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 45
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $859K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 105 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $2M
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
- 6,538+0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 2,504
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.4
- Land area
- 569 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 11
- Median household income
- $76,767
- Average household income
- $96,174
- Median home value
- $209,100
- Jobs located here
- 1,618
- Daytime population
- 4,828Residents 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 Nebraska
Every Nebraska market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Nebraska for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with Howard County marked.
Top counties in Nebraska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sarpy County, NE | 96 | 73 | 9.9 | $6.8M | +9.0% | #5 of 2,402 |
| 2Washington County, NE | 83 | 9 | 10.7 | $6.1M | +1.8% | #121 of 2,402 |
| 3Cass County, NE | 83 | 17 | 15.7 | $4.1M | +3.9% | #133 of 2,402 |
| 4Seward County, NE | 82 | 6 | 8.8 | $7M | +2.3% | #142 of 2,402 |
| 5Lancaster County, NE | 80 | 173 | 12.9 | $4.7M | +3.4% | #179 of 2,402 |
| 6Douglas County, NE | 77 | 387 | 16.2 | $3.8M | +3.6% | #247 of 2,402 |
| 7Platte County, NE | 74 | 24 | 17.6 | $3.4M | +3.9% | #331 of 2,402 |
| 8Adams County, NE | 72 | 18 | 13.8 | $4.3M | −0.3% | #384 of 2,402 |
| 9Saunders County, NE | 70 | 17 | 19.1 | $3.4M | +6.0% | #446 of 2,402 |
| 10Buffalo County, NE | 67 | 41 | 20.5 | $2.9M | +1.9% | #541 of 2,402 |
| Howard County, NE | Not scored | 10 | 39.9 | $1.5M | +0.8% |
Other business types in Howard County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores
- 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, NE?
Howard County has 10 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 5 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in Howard County, NE spend on groceries?
About $15.1M a year, or $6,043 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,504 households in Howard County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Howard County, NE compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Howard County has 39.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.5M, 55% 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 5, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 835 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Howard County, NE growing?
Population estimates put Howard County at 6,538 people in 2025, up 0.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,504 households. Median household income in Howard County is $76,767, 5% 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 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.