Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Colorado

Grocery stores in Denver County, CO

How Denver County, CO 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 80 out of 100: High

Ranked #191 of 2,070 scored counties
#8 of 32 scored counties in Colorado

Listings
162
64 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
111
+0.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.2B
On groceries · $6,475 a household
Spending per listing
$13.4M
44% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.8
29% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
740,613
+3.2% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Denver 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 Denver 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

For grocery stores, Denver County has a Groundwork market score of 80 (high): #191 of 2,070 scored counties and #8 of 32 scored counties in Colorado. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for grocery stores.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 162 grocery stores in Denver County. Of those, 64 are chain locations, or 40%, against 37% across the U.S. That is 4.8 per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Household spending on groceries in Denver County comes to about $2.2B a year: $6,475 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That is about $13.4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 44% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 111 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Denver County in 2023, up 0.9% from 2019. That is one for every 3,022 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $947K have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Denver County. Population estimates show Denver County grew 3.2% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Denver County compares

The same measures for Colorado 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 Denver County, CO compared with Colorado and the U.S.
MeasureDenver CountyColoradoU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.84.56.8
Spending per listing$13.4M$14.3M$9.3M
Households per official establishment3,0223,0442,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+0.9%+0.5%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+3.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,475$6,458$6,319
Median household income$94,718$95,470$80,734
Groundwork market score8086

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
110 → 111+0.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,783
Annual payroll, 2023
$223.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
16264 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
234The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$947K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
740,613+3.2% since 2020
Households
335,428
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
49%
Vehicles per household
1.5
Land area
153 sq. mi.
People per square mile
4,696
Median household income
$94,718+38.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$136,552
Median home value
$616,000
Jobs located here
557,999
Daytime population
911,038Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Denver 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 Denver 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 Colorado

Every Colorado market ranked →

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

Top counties in Colorado

Counties in Colorado ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Douglas County, CO97453.2$23.2M+10.9%#4 of 2,070
2Broomfield County, CO95103.1$22.4M+6.3%#11 of 2,070
3Weld County, CO92473.8$16.9M+14.2%#36 of 2,070
4Larimer County, CO89654.2$15.1M+4.8%#63 of 2,070
5El Paso County, CO88822.8$22.4M+3.2%#67 of 2,070
6Jefferson County, CO82662.7$24.8M−0.5%#145 of 2,070
7Adams County, CO81764.0$15.9M+6.6%#163 of 2,070
8Denver County, CO801624.8$13.4M+3.2%#191 of 2,070
9Arapahoe County, CO791174.5$14.5M+2.8%#214 of 2,070
10Mesa County, CO75335.0$11.7M+4.4%#296 of 2,070

Other business types in Denver County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Denver County, CO?

There are 162 grocery stores on map listings in Denver County as of September 2026. 64 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 111 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, up 0.9% from 2019.

How much do households in Denver County, CO spend on groceries?

About $2.2B a year, or $6,475 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 162 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $13.4M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 335,428 households in Denver County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Denver County, CO compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Denver County has 4.8 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $13.4M, 44% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Denver County would have about 234, against 162 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,022 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count rose 0.9% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Denver County, CO growing?

Population estimates put Denver County at 740,613 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,428 households. Median household income in Denver County is $94,718, 17% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 38.1%, 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. Denver County scores 80 for grocery stores (high), #191 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Denver 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 Denver 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.