Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Illinois
Grocery stores in the Carbondale, IL area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery stores in the Carbondale, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #288 of 506 scored small-town markets
#13 of 19 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 10
- 4 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $122.6M
- On groceries · $5,343 a household
- Spending per listing
- $12.3M
- 32% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.4
- 35% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 52,501
- −1.5% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 grocery stores in the Carbondale area. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 40%, against 37% across the U.S. That is 4.4 per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.
Household spending on groceries in the Carbondale area comes to about $122.6M a year: $5,343 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. Spread across 10 grocery stores, that is $12.3M per store, 32% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 11 businesses with payroll in the Carbondale area classed as supermarkets and grocery stores. That is one for every 2,087 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Carbondale area declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For grocery stores, the Carbondale area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #288 of 506 scored small-town markets and #13 of 19 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.
How the Carbondale area compares
The same measures for Illinois 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 | Carbondale area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.4 | 6.1 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $12.3M | $10.4M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,087 | 1,903 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.4% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,343 | $6,290 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $48,763 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 378
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 104 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 13The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 52,501−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 22,955
- Median age
- 37.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 50%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 584 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 91
- Median household income
- $48,763
- Average household income
- $70,409
- Median home value
- $137,300
- Jobs located here
- 23,658
- Daytime population
- 57,693Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Carbondale area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Carbondale 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Carbondale area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Marion-Herrin, IL | 80 | 9 | 3.1 | $18.6M | +0.2% | #24 of 506 |
| 2Rochelle, IL | 64 | 15 | 7.2 | $8.5M | −0.7% | #113 of 506 |
| 3Charleston-Mattoon, IL | 63 | 10 | 4.8 | $11.5M | −1.0% | #120 of 506 |
| 4Lincoln, IL | 61 | 7 | 6.2 | $9.3M | −2.5% | #144 of 506 |
| 5Sterling, IL | 58 | 11 | 4.8 | $12.1M | −2.6% | #172 of 506 |
| 6Canton, IL | 57 | 6 | 4.3 | $13M | −2.0% | #181 of 506 |
| Burlington, IA-IL | 57 | 9 | 4.5 | $12.5M | −2.5% | #182 of 506 |
| 7Dixon, IL | 56 | 8 | 6.0 | $9.9M | −3.4% | #200 of 506 |
| 8Effingham, IL | 56 | 12 | 6.6 | $9.1M | −0.9% | #203 of 506 |
| 9Freeport, IL | 55 | 9 | 4.6 | $12.2M | −3.0% | #217 of 506 |
| 13Carbondale, IL | 47 | 10 | 4.4 | $12.3M | −1.5% | #288 of 506 |
Other business types in the Carbondale area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores56
- Grocery stores47
- Convenience stores51
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 Carbondale, IL area?
There are 10 grocery stores on map listings in the Carbondale area as of September 2026. 4 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Carbondale, IL area spend on groceries?
About $122.6M a year, or $5,343 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $12.3M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,955 households in the Carbondale area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Carbondale, IL area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Carbondale area has 4.4 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $12.3M, 32% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Carbondale area would have about 13, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,087 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
How fast is the Carbondale, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Carbondale area at 52,501 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,955 households. Median household income in the Carbondale area is $48,763, 40% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Carbondale area scores 47 for grocery stores (lower middle), #288 of 506 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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.