Groceries and convenience · County · Virginia
Grocery and convenience stores in Arlington County, VA
How Arlington County, VA 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 80 out of 100: High
Ranked #174 of 2,402 scored counties
#11 of 115 scored counties in Virginia
- Listings
- 124
- 73 chain locations (59%)
- Official establishments
- 69
- −11.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $830.5M
- On groceries · $7,413 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.7M
- 98% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.1
- 41% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 243,931
- +2.1% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Arlington 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 Arlington County. 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
Arlington County scores 80 (high) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #174 of 2,402 scored counties and #11 of 115 scored counties in Virginia. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for grocery and convenience stores.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 124 grocery and convenience stores in Arlington County. Of those, 73 are chain locations, or 59%, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 11.1 for every 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $7,413 per household (17% above the U.S. average), households in Arlington County spend about $830.5M a year on groceries. That is about $6.7M of household spending for each store on map listings, 98% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 69 businesses with payroll in Arlington County classed as grocery and convenience stores, down 11.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,624 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $674K have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Arlington County. Population estimates put the population change in Arlington County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Arlington County compares
The same measures for Virginia 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 | Arlington County | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.1 | 19.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $6.7M | $3.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,624 | 1,152 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −11.5% | +7.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $7,413 | $6,537 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $142,114 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 80 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 78 → 69−11.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,088
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $73.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 37Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 12473 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 245The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $674K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Arlington 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 Arlington County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 243,931+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 112,027
- Median age
- 37.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 41%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.3
- Land area
- 26 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 9,089
- Median household income
- $142,114+18.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $189,970
- Median home value
- $895,000
- Jobs located here
- 166,762
- Daytime population
- 284,944Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Arlington 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 Arlington County. 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Virginia for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Virginia, with Arlington County marked.
Top counties in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Powhatan County, VA | 95 | 13 | 11.5 | $6M | +7.0% | #11 of 2,402 |
| 2King George County, VA | 94 | 15 | 14.8 | $4.7M | +10.5% | #20 of 2,402 |
| 3Fluvanna County, VA | 93 | 10 | 9.7 | $6.7M | +6.2% | #21 of 2,402 |
| 4Orange County, VA | 87 | 20 | 13.5 | $4.8M | +10.1% | #76 of 2,402 |
| 5Stafford County, VA | 87 | 89 | 17.0 | $4.4M | +8.3% | #80 of 2,402 |
| 6Loudoun County, VA | 85 | 217 | 15.2 | $5.3M | +6.4% | #98 of 2,402 |
| 7Goochland County, VA | 84 | 15 | 14.5 | $4.9M | +17.4% | #112 of 2,402 |
| 8James City County, VA | 83 | 51 | 15.9 | $4.3M | +6.2% | #129 of 2,402 |
| 9York County, VA | 82 | 35 | 13.0 | $5.3M | +1.6% | #143 of 2,402 |
| 10Louisa County, VA | 81 | 27 | 17.4 | $3.6M | +13.6% | #171 of 2,402 |
| 11Arlington County, VA | 80 | 124 | 11.1 | $6.7M | +2.1% | #174 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Arlington County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores80
- Grocery stores79
- Convenience stores82
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 Arlington County, VA?
There are 124 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Arlington County as of September 2026. 73 of them (59%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 69 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, down 11.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 37 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Arlington County, VA spend on groceries?
About $830.5M a year, or $7,413 per household. That is 17% above the U.S. average (an index of 117, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 124 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $6.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 112,027 households in Arlington County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Arlington County, VA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Arlington County has 11.1 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $6.7M, 98% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Arlington County would have about 245, against 124 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,624 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count fell 11.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is Arlington County, VA growing?
Population estimates put Arlington County at 243,931 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 112,027 households. Median household income in Arlington County is $142,114, 76% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 18.4%, 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. Arlington County scores 80 for grocery and convenience stores (high), #174 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Arlington 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 Arlington County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Arlington County?
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 Arlington County. 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.