Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Kentucky
Grocery stores in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area
The grocery stores in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #219 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 141
- 47 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 88
- +13.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.3B
- On groceries · $6,013 a household
- Spending per listing
- $9.2M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.5
- 4% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 535,174
- +3.4% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 141 grocery stores in the Lexington-Fayette metro area. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.5, 4% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.
At $6,013 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area spend about $1.3B a year on groceries. Spread across 141 grocery stores, that is $9.2M per store, in line with 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 88 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lexington-Fayette metro area in 2023, up 13.3% from 2019. That is one for every 2,458 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Lexington-Fayette metro area grew 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is 47 (lower middle), #219 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.
How the Lexington-Fayette metro area compares
The same measures for Kentucky 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 | Lexington-Fayette metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.5 | 7.6 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $9.2M | $7.5M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,458 | 2,517 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +13.3% | +0.7% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,013 | $5,746 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $71,966 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 88+13.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,985
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $121M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14147 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 140The 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 Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 535,174+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 216,273
- Median age
- 38.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,470 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 355
- Median household income
- $71,966+22.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,014
- Median home value
- $281,300
- Jobs located here
- 289,772
- Daytime population
- 573,681Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lexington-Fayette metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 63 | 516 | 5.7 | $10.9M | +2.7% | #95 of 387 |
| 1Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 56 | 340 | 6.1 | $9.9M | +2.9% | #154 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 55 | 78 | 6.2 | $9.3M | +8.5% | #170 of 387 |
| 2Lexington-Fayette, KY | 47 | 141 | 6.5 | $9.2M | +3.4% | #219 of 387 |
| 3Elizabethtown, KY | 42 | 36 | 7.1 | $8.2M | +2.4% | #251 of 387 |
| 4Owensboro, KY | 39 | 29 | 6.4 | $9M | +1.3% | #266 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 37 | 88 | 5.8 | $9.7M | −2.6% | #276 of 387 |
| 5Paducah, KY-IL | 35 | 24 | 5.8 | $10M | −1.2% | #294 of 387 |
| 6Bowling Green, KY | 35 | 74 | 10.1 | $5.6M | +9.5% | #298 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lexington-Fayette 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 stores66
- Grocery stores47
- Convenience stores69
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 Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area?
There are 141 grocery stores on map listings in the Lexington-Fayette metro area as of September 2026. 47 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 88 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, up 13.3% from 2019.
How much do households in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area spend on groceries?
About $1.3B a year, or $6,013 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 141 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $9.2M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 216,273 households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Lexington-Fayette metro area has 6.5 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $9.2M, in line with the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Lexington-Fayette metro area would have about 140, against 141 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,458 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.3% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lexington-Fayette metro area at 535,174 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 216,273 households. Median household income in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is $71,966, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.6%, 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area scores 47 for grocery stores (lower middle), #219 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 Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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.