Groceries and convenience · Metro area · South Carolina
Grocery and convenience stores in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #164 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 691
- 368 chain locations (53%)
- Official establishments
- 242
- +21.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.1B
- On groceries · $6,319 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.1M
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.6
- 10% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 889,263
- +10.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston 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
Households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area spend about $2.1B a year on groceries, or $6,319 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.
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 691 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 53% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 20.6, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area was 242 in 2023, up 21.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,388 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 178 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $150K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.
Population estimates show the Charleston-North Charleston metro area grew 10.7% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 56 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #164 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.
How the Charleston-North Charleston metro area compares
The same measures for South Carolina 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 | Charleston-North Charleston metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.6 | 21.5 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.1M | $2.7M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,388 | 1,330 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +21.6% | +20.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.7% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,319 | $5,910 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $85,254 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 242+21.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 9,184
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $260.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 178Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 691368 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 626The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $150K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 889,263+10.7% since 2020
- Households
- 335,865
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 2,590 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 322
- Median household income
- $85,254+33.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $118,282
- Median home value
- $377,500
- Jobs located here
- 390,960
- Daytime population
- 849,978Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charleston-North Charleston metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| 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 |
Other business types in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 stores56
- Grocery stores53
- Convenience stores58
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 Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 691 grocery and convenience stores in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. 368 of them (53%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 242 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 21.6% from 2019. Another 178 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area spend on groceries?
About $2.1B a year, or $6,319 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 691 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.1M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 335,865 households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 20.6 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 U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area would have about 626, against 691 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,388 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Charleston-North Charleston metro area at 889,263 people in 2025, up 10.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,865 households. The median household income in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area is $85,254 a year, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.9% 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. The Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 56 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #164 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 Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston 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.