Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · North Carolina
Grocery and convenience stores in the Waynesville, NC area
How the Waynesville, NC 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 58 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #203 of 538 scored small-town markets
#6 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 61
- 15 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $153.8M
- On groceries · $5,671 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.5M
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 22.5
- 20% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 63,369
- +1.9% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Waynesville 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 Waynesville 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
Household spending on groceries in the Waynesville area comes to about $153.8M a year: $5,671 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.5M per store, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There are 61 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Waynesville area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 25% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 22.5, 20% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in the Waynesville area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,937 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 7 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Waynesville area grew 1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Waynesville area scores 58 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #203 of 538 scored small-town markets and #6 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Waynesville area compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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 | Waynesville area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 22.5 | 20.2 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.5M | $3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,937 | 1,469 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,671 | $6,016 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $61,912 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 58 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 1,007
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $22.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 7Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6115 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 45The 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 Waynesville 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 Waynesville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 63,369+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 27,123
- Median age
- 47.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 554 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 113
- Median household income
- $61,912
- Average household income
- $80,833
- Median home value
- $279,200
- Jobs located here
- 17,778
- Daytime population
- 52,805Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waynesville 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 Waynesville 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Waynesville area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 76 | 94 | 18.9 | $3.1M | +12.3% | #36 of 538 |
| 2Brevard, NC | 70 | 25 | 17.1 | $3.4M | +2.9% | #78 of 538 |
| 3Elizabeth City, NC | 68 | 33 | 20.9 | $2.7M | +4.5% | #103 of 538 |
| 4Marion, NC | 63 | 34 | 18.2 | $3M | +1.5% | #148 of 538 |
| 5New Bern, NC | 59 | 99 | 18.9 | $3M | +3.6% | #186 of 538 |
| 6Waynesville, NC | 58 | 61 | 22.5 | $2.5M | +1.9% | #203 of 538 |
| 7Albemarle, NC | 57 | 62 | 24.6 | $2.3M | +9.8% | #220 of 538 |
| 8Morehead City, NC | 54 | 89 | 27.8 | $2.2M | +4.1% | #253 of 538 |
| 9Mount Airy, NC | 46 | 76 | 25.4 | $2.1M | +1.3% | #323 of 538 |
| 10Forest City, NC | 43 | 62 | 23.3 | $2.3M | +2.1% | #355 of 538 |
Other business types in the Waynesville area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores58
- Grocery stores53
- Convenience stores74
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 Waynesville, NC area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 61 grocery and convenience stores in the Waynesville area. 15 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 7 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Waynesville, NC area spend on groceries?
About $153.8M a year, or $5,671 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 61 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 27,123 households in the Waynesville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waynesville, NC area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Waynesville area has 22.5 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 Waynesville area would have about 45, against 61 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,937 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Waynesville, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Waynesville area at 63,369 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,123 households. The median household income in the Waynesville area is $61,912 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. 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 Waynesville area scores 58 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #203 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 Waynesville 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 Waynesville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waynesville 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 Waynesville 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.