Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Florida

Grocery stores in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area

How the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #148 of 387 scored metro areas
#18 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida

Listings
170
74 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
106
+12.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.7B
On groceries · $5,794 a household
Spending per listing
$9.9M
6% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
874,790
+19.8% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Lakeland-Winter Haven 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 170 grocery stores in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area. 74 of them (44%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. That is 5.9 per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Households in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area spend about $1.7B a year on groceries, or $5,794 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 170 grocery stores, that is $9.9M per store, 6% 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 106 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area in 2023, up 12.8% from 2019. That is one for every 2,730 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $12.8M have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +19.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #148 of 387 scored metro areas and #18 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida.

How the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureLakeland-Winter Haven metro areaFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.96.56.8
Spending per listing$9.9M$9.4M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,7302,2732,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+12.8%+4.5%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+19.8%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,794$6,077$6,319
Median household income$65,978$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score5759

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
106+12.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,344
Annual payroll, 2023
$160.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
17074 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
180The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$12.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lakeland-Winter Haven 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
874,790+19.8% since 2020
Households
289,425
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,799 sq. mi.
People per square mile
440
Median household income
$65,978+30.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,487
Median home value
$266,500
Jobs located here
284,856
Daytime population
728,367Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lakeland-Winter Haven 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area. 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 Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Florida for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Florida, with the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Florida

Metro areas in Florida ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wildwood-The Villages, FL85294.1$14.6M+21.1%#14 of 387
2Punta Gorda, FL80414.5$13M+15.5%#20 of 387
3Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL771295.0$12.3M+9.1%#27 of 387
4Homosassa Springs, FL75283.9$14.1M+11.1%#33 of 387
5Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL711575.3$11.1M+11.2%#55 of 387
6North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL702305.9$10.6M+13.2%#62 of 387
7Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL691745.3$11.5M+14.4%#66 of 387
8Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL68756.3$10.1M+9.4%#74 of 387
9Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL64375.2$11.6M+7.7%#90 of 387
10Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL621246.1$9.8M+6.5%#110 of 387
18Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL571705.9$9.9M+19.8%#148 of 387

Other business types in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area?

The Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area has 170 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 74 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 106 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, up 12.8% from 2019.

How much do households in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area spend on groceries?

About $1.7B a year, or $5,794 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 170 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $9.9M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 289,425 households in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area has 5.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $9.9M, 6% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area would have about 180, against 170 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,730 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.8% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area at 874,790 people in 2025, up 19.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 289,425 households. Median household income in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area is $65,978, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.4%, 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area scores 57 for grocery stores (upper middle), #148 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lakeland-Winter Haven 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 Lakeland-Winter Haven 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.