Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Virginia
Grocery and convenience stores in the Roanoke, VA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery and convenience stores in the Roanoke, VA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #343 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 269
- 95 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 154
- +20.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $774.8M
- On groceries · $5,891 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.9M
- 15% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.5
- 10% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 316,547
- +0.4% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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
The Roanoke metro area scores 25 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #343 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Households in the Roanoke metro area spend about $774.8M a year on groceries, or $5,891 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 269 grocery and convenience stores, that is $2.9M per store, 15% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Roanoke metro area has 269 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 20.5 per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Official counts show 154 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Roanoke metro area in 2023, up 20.3% from 2019. That is one for every 854 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $149K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Roanoke metro area. Population estimates show the Roanoke metro area grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Roanoke 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 | Roanoke metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.5 | 19.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.9M | $3.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 854 | 1,152 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +20.3% | +7.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,891 | $6,537 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $68,761 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 154+20.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,341
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $88.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 82Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 26995 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 229The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $149K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 316,547+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 131,510
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,868 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 169
- Median household income
- $68,761+21.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $94,709
- Median home value
- $251,400
- Jobs located here
- 158,052
- Daytime population
- 332,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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 stores25
- Grocery stores34
- Convenience stores22
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 Roanoke, VA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 269 grocery and convenience stores in the Roanoke metro area. 95 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 154 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 20.3% from 2019. Another 82 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Roanoke, VA metro area spend on groceries?
About $774.8M a year, or $5,891 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 269 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.9M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 131,510 households in the Roanoke metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Roanoke, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Roanoke metro area has 20.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.9M, 15% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Roanoke metro area would have about 229, against 269 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 854 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Roanoke, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Roanoke metro area at 316,547 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 131,510 households. The median household income in the Roanoke metro area is $68,761 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Roanoke metro area scores 25 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #343 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 Roanoke 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 Roanoke metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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.