Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Virginia
Grocery and convenience stores in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area
The grocery and convenience stores in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #244 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 1,317
- 823 chain locations (62%)
- Official establishments
- 622
- +2.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $4.4B
- On groceries · $6,246 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 18.6
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,797,213
- +0.9% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 1,317 grocery and convenience stores in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. 823 of them (62%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That is 18.6 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area comes to about $4.4B a year: $6,246 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $3.4M of household spending for each store on map listings, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 622 businesses with payroll in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 2.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,137 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 275 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $6.5M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #244 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 18.6 | 19.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $3.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,137 | 1,152 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.7% | +7.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.9% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,246 | $6,537 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $82,330 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 622+2.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 17,378
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $456.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 275Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,317823 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,304The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 9
- Amount
- $6.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,797,213+0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 707,408
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 3,202 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 558
- Median household income
- $82,330
- Average household income
- $108,120
- Median home value
- $340,900
- Jobs located here
- 729,464
- Daytime population
- 1,773,219Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 stores43
- Grocery stores54
- Convenience stores34
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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area?
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 1,317 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 823 of them (62%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 622 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 2.7% from 2019. Official counts list 275 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area spend on groceries?
About $4.4B a year, or $6,246 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,317 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 707,408 households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 18.6 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.4M, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area would have about 1,304, against 1,317 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,137 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area at 1,797,213 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 707,408 households. Median household income in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area is $82,330, 2% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 43 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #244 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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.