Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · California

Grocery stores in Lake County, CA

How Lake County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 21 out of 100: Low

Ranked #1,864 of 2,070 scored counties
#49 of 55 scored counties in California

Listings
28
8 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
23
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$151.9M
On groceries · $5,638 a household
Spending per listing
$5.4M
42% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.4
53% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
67,772
−0.6% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Lake County

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 Lake County. 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

The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in Lake County is 21 (low), #1,864 of 2,070 scored counties and #49 of 55 scored counties in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 28 grocery stores in Lake County. Of those, 8 are chain locations, or 29%, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.4, 53% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Households in Lake County spend about $151.9M a year on groceries, or $5,638 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $5.4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 42% below 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 23 businesses with payroll in Lake County classed as supermarkets and grocery stores, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,171 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $970K has gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Lake County. Population estimates put the population change in Lake County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Lake County 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.

Grocery stores in Lake County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureLake CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.47.26.8
Spending per listing$5.4M$9.1M$9.3M
Households per official establishment1,1711,6842,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+4.0%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,638$6,548$6,319
Median household income$60,621$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score2134

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
23 → 230.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
860
Annual payroll, 2023
$30.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
288 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$970K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Lake County, 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 Lake County

Population, 2025 estimate
67,772−0.6% since 2020
Households
26,940
Median age
44.9
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,255 sq. mi.
People per square mile
54
Median household income
$60,621+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,306
Median home value
$324,300
Jobs located here
15,936
Daytime population
61,990Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lake County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Lake County. 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 California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in California for grocery stores, numbered among those based in California, with Lake County marked.

Top counties in California

Counties in California ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Placer County, CA80744.7$14.6M+8.9%#184 of 2,070
2El Dorado County, CA69385.0$13.5M+0.6%#427 of 2,070
3Solano County, CA66774.9$13.4M+0.6%#498 of 2,070
4Riverside County, CA664646.0$10.6M+5.0%#513 of 2,070
5Contra Costa County, CA632425.8$12.1M+0.3%#588 of 2,070
6Santa Clara County, CA624046.1$12.3M−0.9%#609 of 2,070
7Orange County, CA626195.7$12M−1.1%#610 of 2,070
8San Diego County, CA616575.6$11.9M−0.6%#643 of 2,070
9San Benito County, CA60199.2$7.4M+8.6%#693 of 2,070
10Calaveras County, CA56116.0$10.3M+2.8%#802 of 2,070
49Lake County, CA212810.4$5.4M−0.6%#1,864 of 2,070

Other business types in Lake County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Lake County, CA?

There are 28 grocery stores on map listings in Lake County as of September 2026. 8 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019.

How much do households in Lake County, CA spend on groceries?

About $151.9M a year, or $5,638 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 28 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $5.4M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,940 households in Lake County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Lake County, CA compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Lake County has 10.4 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $5.4M, 42% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Lake County would have about 16, against 28 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,171 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Lake County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Lake County at 67,772 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 26,940 households. Median household income in Lake County is $60,621, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.9%, 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. Lake County scores 21 for grocery stores (low), #1,864 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lake County. 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 Lake County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lake County?

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 Lake County. 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.