Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Tennessee
Grocery and convenience stores in the Athens, TN area
The grocery and convenience stores in the Athens, TN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #152 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee
- Listings
- 57
- 34 chain locations (60%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $149.2M
- On groceries · $5,638 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.5
- 15% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 71,590
- +8.2% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Athens 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 Athens 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 57 grocery and convenience stores in the Athens area. 34 of them (60%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 21.5 for every 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $5,638 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in the Athens area spend about $149.2M a year on groceries. That is about $2.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Athens area was 15 in 2023. That is one for every 1,764 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Athens area grew 8.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Athens area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #152 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee.
How the Athens area compares
The same measures for Tennessee 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 | Athens area | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 21.5 | 19.6 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,764 | 1,612 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +23.6% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +8.2% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,638 | $5,923 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $61,438 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 47 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15
- Employees, 2023
- 657
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5734 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 44The 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 Athens 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 Athens area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 71,590+8.2% since 2020
- Households
- 26,453
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 625 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 109
- Median household income
- $61,438
- Average household income
- $81,180
- Median home value
- $205,300
- Jobs located here
- 19,824
- Daytime population
- 61,141Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Athens area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Athens 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 Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Tennessee for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Athens area marked.
Top small-town markets in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Crossville, TN | 75 | 47 | 16.7 | $3.3M | +8.0% | #39 of 538 |
| 2Lewisburg, TN | 69 | 28 | 20.6 | $2.9M | +10.5% | #90 of 538 |
| 3Athens, TN | 63 | 57 | 21.5 | $2.6M | +8.2% | #152 of 538 |
| 4Shelbyville, TN | 61 | 44 | 22.6 | $2.6M | +9.7% | #172 of 538 |
| 5McMinnville, TN | 61 | 36 | 22.2 | $2.5M | +6.5% | #174 of 538 |
| 6Winchester, TN | 60 | 34 | 19.5 | $2.9M | +6.4% | #178 of 538 |
| 7Fayetteville, TN | 58 | 33 | 22.2 | $2.6M | +4.3% | #201 of 538 |
| 8Greeneville, TN | 52 | 66 | 23.2 | $2.4M | +5.0% | #272 of 538 |
| 9Cookeville, TN | 49 | 135 | 23.0 | $2.4M | +7.6% | #291 of 538 |
| 10Newport, TN | 49 | 34 | 21.9 | $2.4M | +5.1% | #292 of 538 |
Other business types in the Athens area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores63
- Grocery stores53
- Convenience stores70
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 Athens, TN area?
There are 57 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Athens area as of September 2026. 34 of them (60%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Athens, TN area spend on groceries?
About $149.2M a year, or $5,638 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 57 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,453 households in the Athens area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Athens, TN area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Athens area has 21.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.6M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Athens area would have about 44, against 57 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,764 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Athens, TN area growing?
Population estimates put the Athens area at 71,590 people in 2025, up 8.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,453 households. Median household income in the Athens area is $61,438, 24% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Athens area scores 63 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #152 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Athens 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 Athens area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens 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 Athens 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.