Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Arizona

Grocery stores in the Payson, AZ area

The grocery stores in the Payson, AZ area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #70 of 506 scored small-town markets
#2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona

Listings
10
5 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
7
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$130.7M
On groceries · $5,529 a household
Spending per listing
$13.1M
41% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.2
38% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
53,801
+0.9% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Payson area

The site report maps the grocery 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 Payson area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 grocery stores in the Payson area. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.2, 38% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $5,529 per household (12% below the U.S. average), households in the Payson area spend about $130.7M a year on groceries. That works out to $13.1M per store, 41% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in the Payson area classed as supermarkets and grocery stores. That is one for every 3,378 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the Payson area grew 0.9% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery stores, the Payson area has a Groundwork market score of 70 (upper middle): #70 of 506 scored small-town markets and #2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Payson area compares

The same measures for Arizona and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all groceries by the grocery 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.

Grocery stores in Payson, AZ area compared with Arizona and the U.S.
MeasurePayson areaArizonaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.24.16.8
Spending per listing$13.1M$15M$9.3M
Households per official establishment3,3783,5612,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.9%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+6.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,529$6,084$6,319
Median household income$61,986$79,964$80,734
Groundwork market score7087

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7
Employees, 2023
363
Annual payroll, 2023
$13M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
105 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The 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 supermarkets and grocery stores in the Payson 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 Payson area

Population, 2025 estimate
53,801+0.9% since 2020
Households
23,645
Median age
49.8
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
4,758 sq. mi.
People per square mile
11
Median household income
$61,986+42.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,972
Median home value
$269,400
Jobs located here
13,608
Daytime population
48,361Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Payson 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Payson area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery stores across Arizona

Every Arizona market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arizona for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Payson area marked.

Top small-town markets in Arizona

Small-town markets in Arizona ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Safford, AZ7275.5$10.3M+4.0%#61 of 506
2Payson, AZ70104.2$13.1M+0.9%#70 of 506
3Show Low, AZ53256.2$8.5M+3.0%#244 of 506
4Nogales, AZ302917.1$3.1M+4.8%#429 of 506

Other business types in the Payson area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Payson, AZ area?

There are 10 grocery stores on map listings in the Payson area as of September 2026. 5 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Payson, AZ area spend on groceries?

About $130.7M a year, or $5,529 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $13.1M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,645 households in the Payson area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Payson, AZ area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Payson area has 4.2 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $13.1M, 41% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Payson area would have about 14, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,378 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is the Payson, AZ area growing?

Population estimates put the Payson area at 53,801 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,645 households. Median household income in the Payson area is $61,986, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 42.4%, 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 Payson area scores 70 for grocery stores (upper middle), #70 of 506 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Payson area. It maps the grocery 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 stores · All 56 business types in the Payson area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Payson 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 Payson 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.