Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Grocery and convenience stores in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area

The grocery and convenience stores in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #114 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
1,755
825 chain locations (47%)
Official establishments
626
+9.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$7.1B
On groceries · $6,669 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
19% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.5
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,421,992
−1.3% since 2020

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

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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 the Pittsburgh metro area comes to about $7.1B a year: $6,669 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. That is about $4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 19% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

The Pittsburgh metro area has 1,755 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 825 of them (47%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That is 16.5 per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Official counts show 626 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Pittsburgh metro area in 2023, up 9.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,696 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 453 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 19 SBA-backed loans worth $10.6M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Pittsburgh metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Pittsburgh metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Pittsburgh metro area scores 62 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #114 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Pittsburgh 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Pittsburgh, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasurePittsburgh metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.519.018.7
Spending per listing$4M$3.6M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,6961,3001,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.3%+7.0%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,669$6,738$6,319
Median household income$75,762$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score6252

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
626+9.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
20,415
Annual payroll, 2023
$505.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
453Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1,755825 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,090The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
19
Amount
$10.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,421,992−1.3% since 2020
Households
1,061,705
Median age
43.8
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
5,640 sq. mi.
People per square mile
433
Median household income
$75,762
Average household income
$103,604
Median home value
$215,000
Jobs located here
1,169,523
Daytime population
2,467,515Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery 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 Pittsburgh metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Gettysburg, PA777418.1$3.8M+3.6%#25 of 387
2York-Hanover, PA7632417.8$3.8M+3.6%#28 of 387
3Chambersburg, PA7111017.3$3.8M+3.0%#54 of 387
4State College, PA679816.6$4M−0.4%#75 of 387
5Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA6746218.8$3.6M+4.2%#77 of 387
6Pittsburgh, PA621,75516.5$4M−1.3%#114 of 387
7Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ6165119.2$3.6M+3.0%#122 of 387
8Lancaster, PA5842820.1$3.5M+1.9%#143 of 387
9Reading, PA5834321.0$3.2M+2.7%#145 of 387
10Lebanon, PA5710117.8$3.7M+2.2%#150 of 387

Other business types in the Pittsburgh metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,755 grocery and convenience stores in the Pittsburgh metro area. 825 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 626 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 9.3% from 2019. Official counts list 453 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area spend on groceries?

About $7.1B a year, or $6,669 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,755 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,061,705 households in the Pittsburgh metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Pittsburgh, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

The Pittsburgh metro area has 16.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $4M, 19% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Pittsburgh metro area would have about 2,090, against 1,755 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,696 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Pittsburgh, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Pittsburgh metro area at 2,421,992 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,061,705 households. The median household income in the Pittsburgh metro area is $75,762 a year, 6% 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 Pittsburgh metro area scores 62 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #114 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 Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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.