Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Grocery and convenience stores in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #260 of 387 scored metro areas
#15 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
481
191 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
215
+6.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.5B
On groceries · $6,330 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
20.5
10% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
574,418
+1.4% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 481 grocery and convenience stores in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area. 191 of them (40%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 20.5, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Households in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area spend about $1.5B a year on groceries, or $6,330 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each store on map listings, 9% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

In 2023, official counts showed 215 businesses with payroll in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 6.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,089 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 102 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area grew 1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area is 41 (lower middle), #260 of 387 scored metro areas and #15 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureScranton–Wilkes-Barre metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households20.519.018.7
Spending per listing$3.1M$3.6M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,0891,3001,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.4%+7.0%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.4%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,330$6,738$6,319
Median household income$65,158$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score4152

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
215+6.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,698
Annual payroll, 2023
$156.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
102Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
481191 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
438The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$1.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
574,418+1.4% since 2020
Households
234,230
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,746 sq. mi.
People per square mile
326
Median household income
$65,158+21.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,979
Median home value
$187,200
Jobs located here
252,886
Daytime population
571,216Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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
15Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA4148120.5$3.1M+1.4%#260 of 387

Other business types in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area?

There are 481 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area as of September 2026. 191 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 215 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 6.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 102 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area spend on groceries?

About $1.5B a year, or $6,330 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 481 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.1M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 234,230 households in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

The Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area has 20.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.1M, 9% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area would have about 438, against 481 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,089 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area at 574,418 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 234,230 households. Median household income in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area is $65,158, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.8%, 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area scores 41 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #260 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre 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.