Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Washington
Grocery and convenience stores in the Shelton, WA area
The grocery and convenience stores in the Shelton, WA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 68 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #102 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington
- Listings
- 58
- 13 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 18
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $159.2M
- On groceries · $6,116 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 19% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 22.3
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 71,165
- +7.8% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Shelton 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 Shelton 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 58 grocery and convenience stores in the Shelton area. Of those, 13 are chain locations, or 22%, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 22.3, 19% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Household spending on groceries in the Shelton area comes to about $159.2M a year: $6,116 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.7M per store, 19% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 18 businesses with payroll in the Shelton area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,446 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $2.6M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Shelton area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Shelton area grew 7.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Shelton area has a Groundwork market score of 68 (upper middle): #102 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Shelton area compares
The same measures for Washington 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 | Shelton area | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 22.3 | 16.9 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $3.9M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,446 | 1,353 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.8% | +3.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,116 | $6,520 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $83,270 | $98,141 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 68 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 18
- Employees, 2023
- 433
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $18.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5813 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 47The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $2.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Shelton 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 Shelton area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 71,165+7.8% since 2020
- Households
- 26,029
- Median age
- 45.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.3
- Land area
- 960 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 71
- Median household income
- $83,270+44.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $100,630
- Median home value
- $411,800
- Jobs located here
- 13,833
- Daytime population
- 54,996Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Shelton area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Shelton 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 Washington
Every Washington market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Washington for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Washington, with the Shelton area marked.
Top small-town markets in Washington
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Oak Harbor, WA | 72 | 52 | 14.5 | $4.4M | −1.5% | #53 of 538 |
| 2Port Townsend, WA | 70 | 28 | 17.1 | $3.5M | +2.7% | #76 of 538 |
| 3Shelton, WA | 68 | 58 | 22.3 | $2.7M | +7.8% | #102 of 538 |
| 4Port Angeles, WA | 67 | 58 | 16.5 | $3.5M | +1.1% | #106 of 538 |
| 5Ellensburg, WA | 65 | 39 | 19.5 | $3.1M | +4.2% | #124 of 538 |
| 6Pullman, WA | 59 | 23 | 12.3 | $4.5M | +1.5% | #182 of 538 |
| 7Centralia, WA | 52 | 81 | 24.6 | $2.4M | +6.7% | #270 of 538 |
| 8Moses Lake, WA | 41 | 103 | 29.1 | $2M | +6.3% | #373 of 538 |
| 9Othello, WA | 31 | 22 | 35.0 | $1.6M | +4.3% | #452 of 538 |
| 10Aberdeen, WA | 29 | 94 | 30.7 | $1.8M | +3.0% | #459 of 538 |
Other business types in the Shelton area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores68
- Grocery stores56
- Convenience stores83
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 Shelton, WA area?
The Shelton area has 58 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 13 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Shelton, WA area spend on groceries?
About $159.2M a year, or $6,116 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 58 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,029 households in the Shelton area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Shelton, WA area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Shelton area has 22.3 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.7M, 19% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Shelton area would have about 47, against 58 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,446 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Shelton, WA area growing?
Population estimates put the Shelton area at 71,165 people in 2025, up 7.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,029 households. Median household income in the Shelton area is $83,270, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 44.5%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Shelton area scores 68 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #102 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Shelton 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 Shelton area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Shelton 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 Shelton 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.