Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Pennsylvania
Grocery and convenience stores in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area
How the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #77 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 462
- 183 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 151
- +13.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.7B
- On groceries · $6,793 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.6M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 18.8
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 617,427
- +4.2% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 462 grocery and convenience stores in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area. 183 of them (40%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 18.8, in line with the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area comes to about $1.7B a year: $6,793 per household, 8% above the U.S. average. Spread across 462 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.6M per store, 7% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 151 businesses with payroll in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 13.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,630 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 144 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area is 67 (upper middle), #77 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area 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.
| Measure | Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 18.8 | 19.0 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.6M | $3.6M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,630 | 1,300 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +13.5% | +7.0% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.2% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,793 | $6,738 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $80,919 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 67 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 151+13.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 7,559
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $165M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 144Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 462183 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 493The 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 617,427+4.2% since 2020
- Households
- 246,084
- Median age
- 40.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,622 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 373
- Median household income
- $80,919+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $106,040
- Median home value
- $253,100
- Jobs located here
- 349,053
- Daytime population
- 676,005Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Gettysburg, PA | 77 | 74 | 18.1 | $3.8M | +3.6% | #25 of 387 |
| 2York-Hanover, PA | 76 | 324 | 17.8 | $3.8M | +3.6% | #28 of 387 |
| 3Chambersburg, PA | 71 | 110 | 17.3 | $3.8M | +3.0% | #54 of 387 |
| 4State College, PA | 67 | 98 | 16.6 | $4M | −0.4% | #75 of 387 |
| 5Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 67 | 462 | 18.8 | $3.6M | +4.2% | #77 of 387 |
| 6Pittsburgh, PA | 62 | 1,755 | 16.5 | $4M | −1.3% | #114 of 387 |
| 7Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 61 | 651 | 19.2 | $3.6M | +3.0% | #122 of 387 |
| 8Lancaster, PA | 58 | 428 | 20.1 | $3.5M | +1.9% | #143 of 387 |
| 9Reading, PA | 58 | 343 | 21.0 | $3.2M | +2.7% | #145 of 387 |
| 10Lebanon, PA | 57 | 101 | 17.8 | $3.7M | +2.2% | #150 of 387 |
Other business types in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 stores67
- 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 the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area?
There are 462 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area as of September 2026. 183 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 151 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 13.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 144 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area spend on groceries?
About $1.7B a year, or $6,793 per household. That is 8% above the U.S. average (an index of 108, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 462 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 246,084 households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area has 18.8 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.6M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area would have about 493, against 462 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,630 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area at 617,427 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 246,084 households. Median household income in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area is $80,919, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.7%, 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area scores 67 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #77 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.