Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Tennessee

Grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County, TN

How Shelby County, TN compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,310 of 2,402 scored counties
#54 of 87 scored counties in Tennessee

Listings
660
236 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
271
+9.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.1B
On groceries · $5,834 a household
Spending per listing
$3.2M
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
18.2
3% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
910,226
−2.1% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Shelby County

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 Shelby County. 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 660 grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County. Of those, 236 are chain locations, or 36%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 18.2 per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

At $5,834 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in Shelby County spend about $2.1B a year on groceries. Spread across 660 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.2M per store, 5% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County was 271 in 2023, up 9.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,339 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 250 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $710K have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County.

Population estimates put the population change in Shelby County from 2020 to 2025 at −2.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County is 47 (lower middle), #1,310 of 2,402 scored counties and #54 of 87 scored counties in Tennessee.

How Shelby County 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 Shelby County, TN compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households18.219.618.7
Spending per listing$3.2M$3M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,3391,6121,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.3%+23.6%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.1%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,834$5,923$6,319
Median household income$63,767$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score4747

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
248 → 271+9.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,910
Annual payroll, 2023
$189.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
250Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
660236 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
625The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$710K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Shelby County, 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 Shelby County

Population, 2025 estimate
910,226−2.1% since 2020
Households
362,741
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
54%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
753 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,221
Median household income
$63,767+23.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,646
Median home value
$249,100
Jobs located here
497,377
Daytime population
1,001,197Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Shelby County. 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 counties in Tennessee for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Shelby County marked.

Top counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Williamson County, TN9213214.3$5.1M+9.0%#33 of 2,402
2Wilson County, TN879415.9$4.1M+17.8%#82 of 2,402
3Fayette County, TN862615.1$4.1M+7.7%#94 of 2,402
4Jefferson County, TN842712.4$4.7M+9.3%#113 of 2,402
5Blount County, TN808014.4$4.2M+6.0%#180 of 2,402
6Sumner County, TN8014218.1$3.5M+9.2%#190 of 2,402
7Roane County, TN793515.4$3.8M+7.0%#207 of 2,402
8Sullivan County, TN788312.0$4.7M+3.5%#218 of 2,402
9Rutherford County, TN7822217.2$3.7M+12.6%#229 of 2,402
10Loudon County, TN763916.2$3.8M+15.6%#270 of 2,402
54Shelby County, TN4766018.2$3.2M−2.1%#1,310 of 2,402

Other business types in Shelby County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Groceries and convenience

Funeral services

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Shelby County, TN?

Shelby County has 660 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 236 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 271 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 9.3% from 2019. Another 250 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Shelby County, TN spend on groceries?

About $2.1B a year, or $5,834 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 660 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.2M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 362,741 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Shelby County has 18.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.2M, 5% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Shelby County would have about 625, against 660 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,339 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.

How fast is Shelby County, TN growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 910,226 people in 2025, down 2.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 362,741 households. Median household income in Shelby County is $63,767, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.4%, 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. Shelby County scores 47 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #1,310 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Shelby County. 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 Shelby County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.