Groceries and convenience · County · New Jersey
Grocery and convenience stores in Middlesex County, NJ
How Middlesex County, NJ 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 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #620 of 2,402 scored counties
#11 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey
- Listings
- 585
- 254 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 348
- −8.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.3B
- On groceries · $7,546 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4M
- 17% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.0
- 2% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 883,335
- +2.6% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 585 grocery and convenience stores in Middlesex County. Chain locations make up 43% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 19.0 per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in Middlesex County comes to about $2.3B a year: $7,546 per household, 19% above the U.S. average. That works out to $4M per store, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 348 businesses with payroll in Middlesex County classed as grocery and convenience stores, down 8.4% from 2019. That is one for every 884 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 292 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 11 SBA-backed loans worth $6M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Middlesex County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Middlesex County grew 2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Middlesex County is 64 (upper middle), #620 of 2,402 scored counties and #11 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey.
How Middlesex County compares
The same measures for New Jersey 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 | Middlesex County | New Jersey | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.0 | 19.2 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $4M | $3.9M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 884 | 906 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −8.4% | +0.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.6% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $7,546 | $7,393 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $111,549 | $103,556 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 380 → 348−8.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 6,634
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $217M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 292Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 585254 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 686The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 11
- Amount
- $6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Middlesex 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 Middlesex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 883,335+2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 307,782
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 309 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 2,817
- Median household income
- $111,549+24.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $142,057
- Median home value
- $462,900
- Jobs located here
- 459,830
- Daytime population
- 901,798Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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 New Jersey
Every New Jersey market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in New Jersey for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in New Jersey, with Middlesex County marked.
Top counties in New Jersey
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sussex County, NJ | 76 | 92 | 15.9 | $4.8M | +2.9% | #260 of 2,402 |
| 2Somerset County, NJ | 75 | 201 | 15.4 | $5.3M | +3.5% | #284 of 2,402 |
| 3Morris County, NJ | 73 | 329 | 17.0 | $4.8M | +3.2% | #344 of 2,402 |
| 4Burlington County, NJ | 73 | 300 | 16.9 | $4.4M | +4.3% | #347 of 2,402 |
| 5Ocean County, NJ | 73 | 426 | 17.5 | $4M | +5.6% | #353 of 2,402 |
| 6Hunterdon County, NJ | 71 | 103 | 20.3 | $4M | +2.3% | #410 of 2,402 |
| 7Warren County, NJ | 71 | 85 | 18.7 | $3.8M | +3.2% | #413 of 2,402 |
| 8Gloucester County, NJ | 69 | 205 | 18.2 | $4.1M | +3.3% | #461 of 2,402 |
| 9Bergen County, NJ | 66 | 664 | 18.7 | $4.2M | +2.4% | #552 of 2,402 |
| 10Mercer County, NJ | 65 | 267 | 18.5 | $4M | +3.3% | #583 of 2,402 |
| 11Middlesex County, NJ | 64 | 585 | 19.0 | $4M | +2.6% | #620 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Middlesex County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores64
- Grocery stores56
- Convenience stores69
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 Middlesex County, NJ?
There are 585 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Middlesex County as of September 2026. 254 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 348 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, down 8.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 292 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Middlesex County, NJ spend on groceries?
About $2.3B a year, or $7,546 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 585 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 307,782 households in Middlesex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Middlesex County, NJ compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Middlesex County has 19.0 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $4M, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Middlesex County would have about 686, against 585 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 884 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count fell 8.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is Middlesex County, NJ growing?
Population estimates put Middlesex County at 883,335 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 307,782 households. Median household income in Middlesex County is $111,549, 38% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.6%, 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. Middlesex County scores 64 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #620 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Middlesex 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 Middlesex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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.