Groceries and convenience · County · Virginia
Grocery and convenience stores in Essex County, VA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in Essex County, VA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 20 out of 100: Low
Ranked #2,215 of 2,402 scored counties
#102 of 115 scored counties in Virginia
- Listings
- 14
- 6 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $24.7M
- On groceries · $5,554 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.8M
- 48% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 31.5
- 68% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 10,654
- +0.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Essex 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 Essex 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
For grocery and convenience stores, Essex County has a Groundwork market score of 20 (low): #2,215 of 2,402 scored counties and #102 of 115 scored counties in Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 grocery and convenience stores in Essex County. 6 of them (43%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 31.5, 68% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Households in Essex County spend about $24.7M a year on groceries, or $5,554 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. Spread across 14 grocery and convenience stores, that is $1.8M per store, 48% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in Essex County classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 741 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Population estimates show Essex County grew 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Essex 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 | Essex County | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 31.5 | 19.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $1.8M | $3.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 741 | 1,152 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,554 | $6,537 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $56,520 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 20 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7 → 6
- Employees, 2023
- 81
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 146 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 Essex 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 Essex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 10,654+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 4,447
- Median age
- 48.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 257 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 41
- Median household income
- $56,520+8.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,300
- Median home value
- $238,100
- Jobs located here
- 3,291
- Daytime population
- 8,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Essex 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 Essex 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 Essex 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 |
| 102Essex County, VA | 20 | 14 | 31.5 | $1.8M | +0.5% | #2,215 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Essex County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores20
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores19
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 Essex County, VA?
There are 14 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Essex County as of September 2026. 6 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023.
How much do households in Essex County, VA spend on groceries?
About $24.7M a year, or $5,554 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $1.8M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,447 households in Essex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Essex County, VA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Essex County has 31.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 68% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $1.8M, 48% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Essex County would have about 7, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 741 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Essex County, VA growing?
Population estimates put Essex County at 10,654 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 4,447 households. Median household income in Essex County is $56,520, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 8.8%, 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. Essex County scores 20 for grocery and convenience stores (low), #2,215 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Essex 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 Essex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Essex 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 Essex 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.