Groceries and convenience · Metro area · California
Grocery stores in the El Centro, CA metro area
How the El Centro, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 10 out of 100: Low
Ranked #387 of 387 scored metro areas
#25 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 59
- 22 chain locations (37%)
- Official establishments
- 29
- +11.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $272.7M
- On groceries · $5,494 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.6M
- 50% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.9
- 75% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 181,411
- +1.1% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the El Centro metro 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 El Centro 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
For grocery stores, the El Centro metro area has a Groundwork market score of 10 (low): #387 of 387 scored metro areas and #25 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 59 grocery stores in the El Centro metro area. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That is 11.9 per 10,000 households, 75% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
At $5,494 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in the El Centro metro area spend about $272.7M a year on groceries. That is about $4.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 50% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the El Centro metro area was 29 in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,712 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $550K have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the El Centro metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the El Centro metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the El Centro metro area compares
The same measures for California 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.
| Measure | El Centro metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.9 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.6M | $9.1M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,712 | 1,684 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.5% | +4.0% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,494 | $6,548 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $57,681 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 10 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 29+11.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 831
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $28.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5922 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 29The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $550K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 181,411+1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 49,644
- Median age
- 33.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,176 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $57,681+21.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,363
- Median home value
- $309,600
- Jobs located here
- 63,081
- Daytime population
- 165,766Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the El Centro 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the El Centro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery stores across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for grocery stores, numbered among those based in California, with the El Centro metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Vallejo, CA | 60 | 77 | 4.9 | $13.4M | +0.6% | #122 of 387 |
| 2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 56 | 423 | 6.2 | $12.1M | −0.6% | #150 of 387 |
| 3San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 54 | 657 | 5.6 | $11.9M | −0.6% | #174 of 387 |
| 4Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 52 | 557 | 6.3 | $10.2M | +3.2% | #189 of 387 |
| 5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 51 | 906 | 6.2 | $10.1M | +3.5% | #198 of 387 |
| 6Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 36 | 3,089 | 6.9 | $9.4M | −2.6% | #284 of 387 |
| 7Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 36 | 203 | 7.2 | $9.3M | −1.5% | #285 of 387 |
| 8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 36 | 1,341 | 7.7 | $9.3M | −2.4% | #286 of 387 |
| 9Stockton-Lodi, CA | 34 | 238 | 9.7 | $6.5M | +5.5% | #304 of 387 |
| 10Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 31 | 148 | 7.7 | $8.6M | −0.4% | #318 of 387 |
| 25El Centro, CA | 10 | 59 | 11.9 | $4.6M | +1.1% | #387 of 387 |
Other business types in the El Centro 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 stores14
- Grocery stores10
- Convenience stores25
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 stores are in the El Centro, CA metro area?
The El Centro metro area has 59 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 22 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019.
How much do households in the El Centro, CA metro area spend on groceries?
About $272.7M a year, or $5,494 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 59 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $4.6M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,644 households in the El Centro metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the El Centro, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The El Centro metro area has 11.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 75% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $4.6M, 50% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the El Centro metro area would have about 29, against 59 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,712 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.5% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the El Centro, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the El Centro metro area at 181,411 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,644 households. Median household income in the El Centro metro area is $57,681, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.1%, 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 El Centro metro area scores 10 for grocery stores (low), #387 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 El Centro metro 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 El Centro metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the El Centro 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 El Centro 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.