Market rankings · South Carolina
Grocery and convenience stores in South Carolina
Every metro area, small-town market and county in South Carolina, ranked by the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, with competitor counts and household spending for each.
- Listings
- 4,556
- 2,175 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 1,592
- +20.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $12.5B
- On groceries
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.5
- 15% above the U.S.
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 19% below the U.S.
- Rank among states
- #37 of 51
- Market score 40 · Lower middle
A site report maps the grocery and convenience stores on map listings around any address in South Carolina by name and distance, and the spending within reach.
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
There are 4,556 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in South Carolina as of September 2026. 2,175 of them (48%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 21.5, 15% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in South Carolina comes to about $12.5B a year: $5,910 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.7M per store, 19% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
Official counts show 1,592 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in South Carolina in 2023, up 20.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,330 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 7.2% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 29 SBA-backed loans worth $12.7M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in South Carolina.
Among the 50 states and DC, South Carolina ranks #37 for grocery and convenience stores, with a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle). Of the 10 scored metro areas in or partly in South Carolina, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores highest (67). Of the 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in South Carolina, the Seneca area scores highest (56).
Every market in South Carolina for grocery and convenience stores
Download the ranking (CSV)Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in South Carolina, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.
Metro areas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 67 | 1,903 | 17.7 | $3.6M | +10.1% | #78 of 387 |
| 1Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 57 | 214 | 22.4 | $2.8M | +12.0% | #153 of 387 |
| 2Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 56 | 692 | 18.0 | $3.3M | +9.0% | #162 of 387 |
| 3Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 56 | 691 | 20.6 | $3.1M | +10.7% | #164 of 387 |
| 4Columbia, SC | 48 | 622 | 18.3 | $3.2M | +6.0% | #213 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 47 | 464 | 20.0 | $2.9M | +4.7% | #221 of 387 |
| 5Spartanburg, SC | 42 | 298 | 20.8 | $2.8M | +14.3% | #254 of 387 |
| 6Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 39 | 366 | 23.1 | $2.5M | +20.9% | #275 of 387 |
| 7Sumter, SC | 13 | 98 | 23.9 | $2.3M | −0.3% | #383 of 387 |
| 8Florence, SC | 9 | 232 | 29.6 | $1.9M | +0.9% | #386 of 387 |
Small-town markets
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Seneca, SC | 56 | 77 | 22.3 | $2.6M | +6.3% | #231 of 538 |
| 2Murrells Inlet, SC | 46 | 79 | 29.1 | $2M | +3.8% | #325 of 538 |
| 3Newberry, SC | 36 | 46 | 30.0 | $1.9M | +4.8% | #413 of 538 |
| 4Gaffney, SC | 35 | 54 | 24.5 | $2.2M | +3.7% | #417 of 538 |
| 5Greenwood, SC | 33 | 97 | 25.8 | $2.1M | +1.7% | #432 of 538 |
| 6Orangeburg, SC | 14 | 108 | 32.7 | $1.6M | −0.9% | #519 of 538 |
Counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Edgefield County, SC | 77 | 14 | 14.3 | $4.1M | +16.1% | #244 of 2,402 |
| 2Berkeley County, SC | 75 | 170 | 18.1 | $3.4M | +18.7% | #301 of 2,402 |
| 3York County, SC | 74 | 195 | 17.1 | $3.8M | +8.1% | #325 of 2,402 |
| 4Greenville County, SC | 73 | 380 | 17.2 | $3.6M | +10.6% | #362 of 2,402 |
| 5Dorchester County, SC | 73 | 119 | 18.8 | $3.3M | +10.1% | #370 of 2,402 |
| 6Beaufort County, SC | 73 | 179 | 21.7 | $3M | +8.9% | #373 of 2,402 |
| 7Aiken County, SC | 68 | 138 | 19.7 | $3M | +7.3% | #514 of 2,402 |
| 8Kershaw County, SC | 66 | 46 | 17.1 | $3.4M | +11.6% | #564 of 2,402 |
| 9Richland County, SC | 64 | 278 | 16.6 | $3.5M | +4.6% | #630 of 2,402 |
| 10Pickens County, SC | 62 | 96 | 18.3 | $3.1M | +5.7% | #718 of 2,402 |
| 11Anderson County, SC | 62 | 163 | 19.4 | $3M | +7.7% | #723 of 2,402 |
| 12Charleston County, SC | 61 | 402 | 22.5 | $2.9M | +6.4% | #770 of 2,402 |
| 13Lancaster County, SC | 61 | 88 | 21.9 | $2.8M | +18.3% | #771 of 2,402 |
| 14Spartanburg County, SC | 60 | 268 | 20.4 | $2.8M | +15.6% | #807 of 2,402 |
| 15Lexington County, SC | 59 | 241 | 19.8 | $3.1M | +7.7% | #834 of 2,402 |
| 16Calhoun County, SC | 56 | 9 | 14.6 | $3.8M | +0.6% | #921 of 2,402 |
| 17Horry County, SC | 55 | 366 | 23.1 | $2.5M | +20.9% | #994 of 2,402 |
| 18Oconee County, SC | 51 | 77 | 22.3 | $2.6M | +6.3% | #1,171 of 2,402 |
| 19Saluda County, SC | 48 | 16 | 20.9 | $2.6M | +4.1% | #1,292 of 2,402 |
| 20Laurens County, SC | 46 | 53 | 19.7 | $2.8M | +6.2% | #1,358 of 2,402 |
| 21Jasper County, SC | 43 | 35 | 26.7 | $2.2M | +32.2% | #1,492 of 2,402 |
| 22Georgetown County, SC | 43 | 79 | 29.1 | $2M | +3.8% | #1,496 of 2,402 |
| 23Abbeville County, SC | 42 | 20 | 20.5 | $2.7M | +2.3% | #1,513 of 2,402 |
| 24Chesterfield County, SC | 37 | 47 | 26.8 | $2M | +3.4% | #1,722 of 2,402 |
| 25Newberry County, SC | 35 | 46 | 30.0 | $1.9M | +4.8% | #1,799 of 2,402 |
Show all 46 counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26Cherokee County, SC | 32 | 54 | 24.5 | $2.2M | +3.7% | #1,893 of 2,402 |
| 27Sumter County, SC | 30 | 98 | 23.9 | $2.3M | −0.3% | #1,946 of 2,402 |
| 28Chester County, SC | 29 | 33 | 25.1 | $2.1M | +2.2% | #1,973 of 2,402 |
| 29Barnwell County, SC | 25 | 20 | 24.6 | $2.1M | +0.4% | #2,096 of 2,402 |
| 30Greenwood County, SC | 25 | 77 | 27.6 | $2M | +1.5% | #2,104 of 2,402 |
| 31Florence County, SC | 24 | 160 | 30.3 | $1.8M | +1.2% | #2,128 of 2,402 |
| 32Colleton County, SC | 23 | 54 | 32.9 | $1.6M | +2.2% | #2,156 of 2,402 |
| 33Darlington County, SC | 21 | 72 | 28.2 | $1.9M | +0.1% | #2,196 of 2,402 |
| 34Hampton County, SC | 21 | 31 | 42.9 | $1.2M | −1.9% | #2,208 of 2,402 |
| 35Clarendon County, SC | 20 | 46 | 37.2 | $1.4M | +0.7% | #2,222 of 2,402 |
| 36Union County, SC | 19 | 30 | 25.8 | $2M | −1.4% | #2,229 of 2,402 |
| 37Orangeburg County, SC | 15 | 108 | 32.7 | $1.6M | −0.9% | #2,300 of 2,402 |
| 38Williamsburg County, SC | 12 | 37 | 30.1 | $1.7M | −4.0% | #2,333 of 2,402 |
| 39Fairfield County, SC | 11 | 32 | 35.8 | $1.5M | −2.6% | #2,351 of 2,402 |
| 40Marion County, SC | 7 | 39 | 32.0 | $1.5M | −2.9% | #2,382 of 2,402 |
| 41Dillon County, SC | 5 | 39 | 36.0 | $1.4M | −2.9% | #2,389 of 2,402 |
| 42Bamberg County, SC | 4 | 21 | 45.2 | $1.1M | −3.5% | #2,393 of 2,402 |
| 43Lee County, SC | 3 | 22 | 34.6 | $1.4M | −5.0% | #2,396 of 2,402 |
| 44Marlboro County, SC | 3 | 37 | 37.8 | $1.3M | −3.8% | #2,398 of 2,402 |
| McCormick County, SC | Not scored | 10 | 23.8 | $2.3M | +7.3% | |
| Allendale County, SC | Not scored | 11 | 34.0 | $1.4M | −7.4% |
Markets with fewer than 5 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in South Carolina?
As of September 2026, map listings count 4,556 grocery and convenience stores in South Carolina. 2,175 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 1,592 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 20.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,152 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in South Carolina spend on groceries?
About $12.5B a year, or $5,910 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4,556 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,117,989 households in South Carolina and national spending patterns by income.
How does South Carolina compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
South Carolina has 21.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.7M, 19% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, South Carolina would have about 3,694, against 4,556 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,330 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
Which market in South Carolina has the highest market score for grocery and convenience stores?
Among 10 scored metro areas in or partly in South Carolina, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores highest, at 67 (upper middle). Among 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in South Carolina, the Seneca area scores highest, at 56 (upper middle). Among 44 scored counties in South Carolina, Edgefield County scores highest, at 77 (high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.
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. South Carolina scores 40 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #37 of the 50 states and DC.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in South Carolina. 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.
Grocery and convenience stores in other states
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Top markets for grocery and convenience stores across the U.S. · All business types in South Carolina
Related business types in South Carolina
- Grocery stores1,431 listings
- Convenience stores2,367 listings
Screening a site or an acquisition in South Carolina?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
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.