Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Virginia
Grocery and convenience stores in the Charlottesville, VA metro area
How the Charlottesville, VA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #212 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 183
- 73 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 84
- +9.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $591M
- On groceries · $6,534 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.2M
- 5% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.2
- 8% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 228,597
- +3.1% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Charlottesville metro 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 Charlottesville metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 183 grocery and convenience stores in the Charlottesville metro area. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 20.2 per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $6,534 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in the Charlottesville metro area spend about $591M a year on groceries. That works out to $3.2M per store, 5% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 84 businesses with payroll in the Charlottesville metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 9.1% from 2019. That is one for every 1,077 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 24 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Charlottesville metro area grew 3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Charlottesville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 48 (lower middle): #212 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Charlottesville metro area 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 | Charlottesville metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.2 | 19.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.2M | $3.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,077 | 1,152 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.1% | +7.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,534 | $6,537 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $93,598 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 84+9.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,708
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $80M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 24Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 18373 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 174The 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 Charlottesville metro 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 Charlottesville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 228,597+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 90,452
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,644 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 136
- Median household income
- $93,598+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $130,972
- Median home value
- $430,300
- Jobs located here
- 108,968
- Daytime population
- 237,767Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Charlottesville metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Charlottesville metro 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charlottesville metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 72 | 3,408 | 14.4 | $5M | +3.3% | #45 of 387 |
| 1Richmond, VA | 51 | 1,032 | 19.3 | $3.3M | +5.5% | #194 of 387 |
| 2Winchester, VA-WV | 50 | 135 | 24.3 | $2.6M | +6.5% | #204 of 387 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 48 | 212 | 16.2 | $3.4M | +2.3% | #210 of 387 |
| 3Charlottesville, VA | 48 | 183 | 20.2 | $3.2M | +3.1% | #212 of 387 |
| 4Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 43 | 1,317 | 18.6 | $3.4M | +0.9% | #244 of 387 |
| 5Lynchburg, VA | 30 | 211 | 20.4 | $2.9M | +2.9% | #323 of 387 |
| 6Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 30 | 117 | 22.4 | $2.6M | +3.2% | #324 of 387 |
| 7Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 28 | 136 | 19.4 | $3M | −0.1% | #331 of 387 |
| 8Roanoke, VA | 25 | 269 | 20.5 | $2.9M | +0.4% | #343 of 387 |
Other business types in the Charlottesville metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores48
- Grocery stores43
- 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 the Charlottesville, VA metro area?
The Charlottesville metro area has 183 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 73 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 84 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019. Official counts list 24 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Charlottesville, VA metro area spend on groceries?
About $591M a year, or $6,534 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 183 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.2M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 90,452 households in the Charlottesville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Charlottesville, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Charlottesville metro area has 20.2 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 8% above 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, the Charlottesville metro area would have about 174, against 183 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,077 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Charlottesville, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Charlottesville metro area at 228,597 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,452 households. Median household income in the Charlottesville metro area is $93,598, 16% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.8%, 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. The Charlottesville metro area scores 48 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #212 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Charlottesville metro 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 Charlottesville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charlottesville metro 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 Charlottesville metro 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.