Groceries and convenience · Metro area · California
Grocery stores in the Merced, CA metro area
How the Merced, 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 21 out of 100: Low
Ranked #363 of 387 scored metro areas
#20 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 80
- 24 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 56
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $489.2M
- On groceries · $5,684 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.1M
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.3
- 37% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 297,260
- +5.1% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Merced 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 Merced 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
The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Merced metro area is 21 (low), #363 of 387 scored metro areas and #20 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
At $5,684 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in the Merced metro area spend about $489.2M a year on groceries. That is about $6.1M of household spending for each store on map listings, 34% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
The Merced metro area has 80 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 30% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That is 9.3 per 10,000 households, 37% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 56 businesses with payroll in the Merced metro area classed as supermarkets and grocery stores, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,537 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $8.8M have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Merced metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Merced metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +5.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Merced 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 | Merced metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.3 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $6.1M | $9.1M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,537 | 1,684 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +4.0% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,684 | $6,548 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $65,510 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 21 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 560.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,563
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $52.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8024 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 53The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $8.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Merced 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 Merced metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 297,260+5.1% since 2020
- Households
- 86,055
- Median age
- 32.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,938 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 150
- Median household income
- $65,510+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $87,781
- Median home value
- $391,800
- Jobs located here
- 77,775
- Daytime population
- 255,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Merced 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 Merced 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 Merced 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 |
| 20Merced, CA | 21 | 80 | 9.3 | $6.1M | +5.1% | #363 of 387 |
Other business types in the Merced 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 stores25
- Grocery stores21
- Convenience stores39
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 Merced, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 80 grocery stores in the Merced metro area. 24 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 56 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019.
How much do households in the Merced, CA metro area spend on groceries?
About $489.2M a year, or $5,684 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 80 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $6.1M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 86,055 households in the Merced metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Merced, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Merced metro area has 9.3 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 37% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $6.1M, 34% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Merced metro area would have about 53, against 80 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,537 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 the Merced, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Merced metro area at 297,260 people in 2025, up 5.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,055 households. The median household income in the Merced metro area is $65,510 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.1% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Merced metro area scores 21 for grocery stores (low), #363 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 Merced 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 Merced metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Merced 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 Merced 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.