Groceries and convenience · County · North Dakota
Grocery and convenience stores in Nelson County, ND
How Nelson County, ND 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
- 5
- 1 chain location (20%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $7.9M
- On groceries · $5,869 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.6M
- 54% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 37.4
- Twice the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,963
- −1.0% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Nelson 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 Nelson 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 5 grocery and convenience stores in Nelson County. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 37.4, twice the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $5,869 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in Nelson County spend about $7.9M a year on groceries. That works out to $1.6M per store, 54% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Nelson County: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Nelson County declined 1.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Nelson County compares
The same measures for North Dakota 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 | Nelson County | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 37.4 | 22.7 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $1.6M | $2.7M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,809 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −2.1% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +2.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,869 | $6,077 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $67,193 | $76,657 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 51 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2The 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 Nelson 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 Nelson County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,963−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 1,338
- Median age
- 48.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.3
- Land area
- 982 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 3
- Median household income
- $67,193
- Average household income
- $100,705
- Median home value
- $139,700
- Jobs located here
- 968
- Daytime population
- 2,899Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Nelson 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 Nelson 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 North Dakota
Every North Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in North Dakota for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in North Dakota, with Nelson County marked.
Top counties in North Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Burleigh County, ND | 85 | 66 | 16.0 | $4M | +4.7% | #101 of 2,402 |
| 2Morton County, ND | 84 | 19 | 13.6 | $4.5M | +3.8% | #114 of 2,402 |
| 3Cass County, ND | 84 | 128 | 15.2 | $4M | +9.1% | #115 of 2,402 |
| 4Williams County, ND | 67 | 36 | 23.8 | $2.7M | +1.4% | #544 of 2,402 |
| 5Ward County, ND | 62 | 60 | 21.0 | $2.9M | −2.4% | #726 of 2,402 |
| 6Grand Forks County, ND | 62 | 65 | 20.8 | $2.8M | +1.9% | #732 of 2,402 |
| 7Stark County, ND | 61 | 33 | 24.4 | $2.5M | +0.5% | #778 of 2,402 |
| 8Barnes County, ND | 57 | 7 | 14.3 | $4.1M | −2.7% | #890 of 2,402 |
| 9McKenzie County, ND | 55 | 15 | 25.0 | $2.7M | +2.8% | #989 of 2,402 |
| 10Walsh County, ND | 45 | 9 | 20.5 | $2.9M | −3.3% | #1,385 of 2,402 |
| Nelson County, ND | Not scored | 5 | 37.4 | $1.6M | −1.0% |
Other business types in Nelson 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 Nelson County, ND?
There are 5 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Nelson County as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. No official count is published for grocery and convenience stores in Nelson County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Nelson County, ND spend on groceries?
About $7.9M a year, or $5,869 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,338 households in Nelson County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Nelson County, ND compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Nelson County has 37.4 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, twice the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.6M, 54% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Nelson County would have about 2, against 5 on map listings.
How fast is Nelson County, ND growing?
Population estimates put Nelson County at 2,963 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,338 households. Median household income in Nelson County is $67,193, 17% 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 Nelson 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 Nelson County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Nelson 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 Nelson 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.