Groceries and convenience · County · Virginia
Grocery and convenience stores in Caroline County, VA
How Caroline 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 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #672 of 2,402 scored counties
#32 of 115 scored counties in Virginia
- Listings
- 24
- 9 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $75.6M
- On groceries · $6,310 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.2M
- 7% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.0
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 34,413
- +11.3% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Caroline 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 Caroline 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 24 grocery and convenience stores in Caroline County. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 20.0, 7% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Households in Caroline County spend about $75.6M a year on groceries, or $6,310 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $3.2M of household spending for each store on map listings, 7% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 11 businesses with payroll in Caroline County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,090 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Caroline County from 2020 to 2025 at +11.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, Caroline County has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #672 of 2,402 scored counties and #32 of 115 scored counties in Virginia.
How Caroline 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 | Caroline County | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.0 | 19.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.2M | $3.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,090 | 1,152 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +11.3% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,310 | $6,537 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $87,407 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7 → 11
- Employees, 2023
- 185
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 249 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 22The 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 Caroline 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 Caroline County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 34,413+11.3% since 2020
- Households
- 11,988
- Median age
- 40.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.3
- Land area
- 527 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 61
- Median household income
- $87,407+34.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $103,835
- Median home value
- $307,700
- Jobs located here
- 6,321
- Daytime population
- 20,611Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Caroline 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 Caroline 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 Caroline 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 |
| 32Caroline County, VA | 63 | 24 | 20.0 | $3.2M | +11.3% | #672 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Caroline County
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 stores83
- Convenience stores49
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 Caroline County, VA?
Caroline County has 24 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Caroline County, VA spend on groceries?
About $75.6M a year, or $6,310 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 24 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.2M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,988 households in Caroline County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Caroline County, VA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Caroline County has 20.0 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.2M, 7% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Caroline County would have about 22, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,090 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Caroline County, VA growing?
Population estimates put Caroline County at 34,413 people in 2025, up 11.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 11,988 households. Median household income in Caroline County is $87,407, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 34.3%, 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. Caroline County scores 63 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #672 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Caroline 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 Caroline County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Caroline 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 Caroline 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.