Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Pennsylvania

Grocery and convenience stores in Carbon County, PA

How Carbon County, PA 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 66 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #562 of 2,402 scored counties
#20 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
50
17 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
17
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$173.1M
On groceries · $6,350 a household
Spending per listing
$3.5M
2% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
18.3
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
65,868
+1.7% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Carbon 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 Carbon County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 Carbon County comes to about $173.1M a year: $6,350 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 50 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.5M per store, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Carbon County has 50 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 17 are chain locations, or 34%, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 18.3, 2% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Carbon County in 2023. That is one for every 1,603 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Carbon County grew 1.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, Carbon County has a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle): #562 of 2,402 scored counties and #20 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Carbon County compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Carbon County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureCarbon CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households18.319.018.7
Spending per listing$3.5M$3.6M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,6031,3001,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+7.0%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.7%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,350$6,738$6,319
Median household income$67,554$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score6652

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14 → 17
Employees, 2023
476
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
4Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5017 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
51The 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 Carbon 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 Carbon County

Population, 2025 estimate
65,868+1.7% since 2020
Households
27,255
Median age
45.6
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
381 sq. mi.
People per square mile
171
Median household income
$67,554+18.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,706
Median home value
$211,400
Jobs located here
15,436
Daytime population
50,450Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Carbon 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 Carbon County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery and convenience stores across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Carbon County marked.

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Chester County, PA8632716.0$4.9M+4.2%#88 of 2,402
2Cumberland County, PA8219318.1$3.9M+6.5%#152 of 2,402
3Adams County, PA827418.1$3.8M+3.6%#153 of 2,402
4York County, PA8132417.8$3.8M+3.6%#169 of 2,402
5Butler County, PA8015719.4$3.6M+3.2%#189 of 2,402
6Pike County, PA794819.8$3.4M+7.2%#212 of 2,402
7Washington County, PA7714816.7$4M+0.7%#245 of 2,402
8Franklin County, PA7711017.3$3.8M+3.0%#248 of 2,402
9Westmoreland County, PA7622814.7$4.5M−1.4%#263 of 2,402
10Fulton County, PA75711.0$5.7M−0.6%#283 of 2,402
20Carbon County, PA665018.3$3.5M+1.7%#562 of 2,402

Other business types in Carbon County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Carbon County, PA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 50 grocery and convenience stores in Carbon County. 17 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Carbon County, PA spend on groceries?

About $173.1M a year, or $6,350 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.5M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 27,255 households in Carbon County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Carbon County, PA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

Carbon County has 18.3 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.5M, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Carbon County would have about 51, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,603 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Carbon County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Carbon County at 65,868 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,255 households. The median household income in Carbon County is $67,554 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Carbon County scores 66 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #562 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Carbon 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 Carbon County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Carbon 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 Carbon 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.