Groceries and convenience · Metro area · California
Grocery stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #174 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 657
- 263 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 580
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $7.8B
- On groceries · $6,677 a household
- Spending per listing
- $11.9M
- 28% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.6
- 18% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 3,282,248
- −0.6% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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
Household spending on groceries in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area comes to about $7.8B a year: $6,677 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. Spread across 657 grocery stores, that is $11.9M per store, 28% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has 657 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 263 of them (40%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.6, 18% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area was 580 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 2,019 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $19.7M have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For grocery stores, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #174 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.6 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $11.9M | $9.1M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,019 | 1,684 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +4.0% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,677 | $6,548 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $106,268 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5800.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 26,245
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $984.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 657263 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 842The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $19.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,282,248−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 1,171,278
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 4,211 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 781
- Median household income
- $106,268+34.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $141,250
- Median home value
- $854,700
- Jobs located here
- 1,516,991
- Daytime population
- 3,269,716Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 |
Other business types in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 stores61
- Grocery stores54
- Convenience stores64
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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 657 grocery stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. 263 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 580 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019.
How much do households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area spend on groceries?
About $7.8B a year, or $6,677 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 657 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $11.9M 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 1,171,278 households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has 5.6 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $11.9M, 28% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area would have about 842, against 657 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,019 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area at 3,282,248 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,171,278 households. The median household income in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area is $106,268 a year, 32% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.6% 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area scores 54 for grocery stores (upper middle), #174 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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.