Groceries and convenience · Metro area · New York
Grocery and convenience stores in the Ithaca, NY metro area
How the Ithaca, NY 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #148 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York
- Listings
- 74
- 27 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 29
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $287.7M
- On groceries · $6,650 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.9M
- 15% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 17.1
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 104,047
- −1.4% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Ithaca 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 Ithaca metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 74 grocery and convenience stores in the Ithaca metro area. 27 of them (36%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That is 17.1 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in the Ithaca metro area comes to about $287.7M a year: $6,650 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. Spread across 74 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.9M per store, 15% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 29 businesses with payroll in the Ithaca metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,492 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $70K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Ithaca metro area.
Population estimates show the Ithaca metro area declined 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For grocery and convenience stores, the Ithaca metro area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #148 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.
How the Ithaca metro area compares
The same measures for New York 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 | Ithaca metro area | New York | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 17.1 | 20.4 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.9M | $3.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,492 | 612 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +1.8% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,650 | $6,985 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $74,024 | $85,974 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 290.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,077
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $35.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7427 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 85The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $70K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Ithaca 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 Ithaca metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 104,047−1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 43,263
- Median age
- 36.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 475 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 220
- Median household income
- $74,024+22.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,718
- Median home value
- $290,900
- Jobs located here
- 46,926
- Daytime population
- 111,478Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ithaca 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 Ithaca metro 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 New York
Every New York market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in New York, with the Ithaca metro area marked.
Top metro areas in New York
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | 62 | 441 | 17.3 | $4.2M | +3.0% | #113 of 387 |
| 2Ithaca, NY | 57 | 74 | 17.1 | $3.9M | −1.4% | #148 of 387 |
| 3Rochester, NY | 53 | 780 | 17.5 | $3.8M | −0.7% | #178 of 387 |
| 4Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 52 | 762 | 19.9 | $3.5M | +1.9% | #186 of 387 |
| 5Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 49 | 851 | 17.0 | $3.9M | −0.8% | #205 of 387 |
| 6New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 49 | 14,606 | 19.8 | $3.7M | +0.6% | #206 of 387 |
| 7Kingston, NY | 47 | 153 | 20.6 | $3.4M | +1.1% | #218 of 387 |
| 8Binghamton, NY | 41 | 199 | 19.4 | $3.3M | −1.3% | #259 of 387 |
| 9Syracuse, NY | 38 | 574 | 21.2 | $3.1M | −1.3% | #279 of 387 |
| 10Elmira, NY | 33 | 81 | 23.0 | $2.7M | −3.9% | #308 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ithaca metro 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 stores40
- Convenience stores61
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 Ithaca, NY metro area?
The Ithaca metro area has 74 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 27 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Ithaca, NY metro area spend on groceries?
About $287.7M a year, or $6,650 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 74 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.9M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 43,263 households in the Ithaca metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ithaca, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Ithaca metro area has 17.1 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.9M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Ithaca metro area would have about 85, against 74 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,492 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ithaca, NY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ithaca metro area at 104,047 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 43,263 households. Median household income in the Ithaca metro area is $74,024, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.9%, 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. The Ithaca metro area scores 57 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #148 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 Ithaca 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 Ithaca metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ithaca 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 Ithaca 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.