Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Tennessee

Grocery and convenience stores in the Cookeville, TN area

The grocery and convenience stores in the Cookeville, TN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #291 of 538 scored small-town markets
#9 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee

Listings
135
35 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
43
+24.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$323.1M
On groceries · $5,505 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
23.0
23% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
152,477
+7.6% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Cookeville 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 Cookeville 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 135 grocery and convenience stores in the Cookeville area. 35 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That is 23.0 per 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Households in the Cookeville area spend about $323.1M a year on groceries, or $5,505 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. Spread across 135 grocery and convenience stores, that is $2.4M per store, 29% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Cookeville area was 43 in 2023, up 24.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,365 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 34 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $210K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Cookeville area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Cookeville area from 2020 to 2025 at +7.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Cookeville area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #291 of 538 scored small-town markets and #9 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee.

How the Cookeville 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Cookeville, TN area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureCookeville areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households23.019.618.7
Spending per listing$2.4M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,3651,6121,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+24.2%+23.6%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+7.6%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,505$5,923$6,319
Median household income$55,380$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score4947

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
43+24.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
929
Annual payroll, 2023
$23.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
34Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
13535 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
95The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$210K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
152,477+7.6% since 2020
Households
58,693
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,520 sq. mi.
People per square mile
96
Median household income
$55,380
Average household income
$75,930
Median home value
$237,000
Jobs located here
55,382
Daytime population
142,620Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Cookeville 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 Cookeville 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 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 Cookeville area marked.

Top small-town markets in Tennessee

Small-town markets in Tennessee ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Crossville, TN754716.7$3.3M+8.0%#39 of 538
2Lewisburg, TN692820.6$2.9M+10.5%#90 of 538
3Athens, TN635721.5$2.6M+8.2%#152 of 538
4Shelbyville, TN614422.6$2.6M+9.7%#172 of 538
5McMinnville, TN613622.2$2.5M+6.5%#174 of 538
6Winchester, TN603419.5$2.9M+6.4%#178 of 538
7Fayetteville, TN583322.2$2.6M+4.3%#201 of 538
8Greeneville, TN526623.2$2.4M+5.0%#272 of 538
9Cookeville, TN4913523.0$2.4M+7.6%#291 of 538
10Newport, TN493421.9$2.4M+5.1%#292 of 538

Other business types in the Cookeville 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 Cookeville, TN area?

The Cookeville area has 135 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 35 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 43 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 24.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 34 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Cookeville, TN area spend on groceries?

About $323.1M a year, or $5,505 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 135 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 58,693 households in the Cookeville area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Cookeville, TN area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

The Cookeville area has 23.0 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.4M, 29% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Cookeville area would have about 95, against 135 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,365 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 24.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Cookeville, TN area growing?

Population estimates put the Cookeville area at 152,477 people in 2025, up 7.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 58,693 households. Median household income in the Cookeville area is $55,380, 31% 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 Cookeville area scores 49 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #291 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 Cookeville 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 Cookeville area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cookeville 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 Cookeville 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.