Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · California

Grocery stores in Riverside County, CA

How Riverside 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 66 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #513 of 2,070 scored counties
#4 of 55 scored counties in California

Listings
464
234 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
382
+10.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$4.9B
On groceries · $6,373 a household
Spending per listing
$10.6M
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.0
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,544,916
+5.0% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Riverside 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 Riverside County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

Household spending on groceries in Riverside County comes to about $4.9B a year: $6,373 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 464 grocery stores, that is $10.6M per store, 15% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

Riverside County has 464 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 234 of them (50%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.0, 12% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 382 businesses with payroll in Riverside County classed as supermarkets and grocery stores, up 10.7% from 2019. That is one for every 2,030 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $6.2M have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Riverside County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Riverside County grew 5.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Riverside County scores 66 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #513 of 2,070 scored counties and #4 of 55 scored counties in California. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Riverside 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 Riverside County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureRiverside CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.07.26.8
Spending per listing$10.6M$9.1M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,0301,6842,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.7%+4.0%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.0%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,373$6,548$6,319
Median household income$93,074$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score6634

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
345 → 382+10.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
18,447
Annual payroll, 2023
$673.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
464234 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
532The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$6.2M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
2,544,916+5.0% since 2020
Households
775,335
Median age
38.0
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
7,209 sq. mi.
People per square mile
344
Median household income
$93,074+38.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$118,893
Median home value
$557,300
Jobs located here
814,658
Daytime population
2,232,472Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Riverside 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 Riverside 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 Riverside 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

Other business types in Riverside County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Riverside County, CA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 464 grocery stores in Riverside County. 234 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 382 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, up 10.7% from 2019.

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

About $4.9B a year, or $6,373 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 464 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $10.6M 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 775,335 households in Riverside County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Riverside County has 6.0 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $10.6M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Riverside County would have about 532, against 464 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,030 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.7% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Riverside County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Riverside County at 2,544,916 people in 2025, up 5.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 775,335 households. The median household income in Riverside County is $93,074 a year, 15% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.9% 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. Riverside County scores 66 for grocery stores (upper middle), #513 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Riverside 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 Riverside County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Riverside 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 Riverside 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.