Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Kentucky

Grocery stores in Nicholas County, KY

How Nicholas County, KY compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
3
1 chain location (33%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$14.9M
On groceries · $5,354 a household
Spending per listing
$5M
47% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.8
59% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,949
+5.4% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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

Household spending on groceries in Nicholas County comes to about $14.9M a year: $5,354 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $5M of household spending for each store on map listings, 47% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

Nicholas County has 3 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. That comes to 10.8 for every 10,000 households, 59% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for supermarkets and grocery stores in Nicholas County, since they leave out counts under 3.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Nicholas County grew 5.4%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Nicholas County 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.

Grocery stores in Nicholas County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureNicholas CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.87.66.8
Spending per listing$5M$7.5M$9.3M
Households per official establishmentn/a2,5172,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.7%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.4%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,354$5,746$6,319
Median household income$59,531$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored31

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
31 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,949+5.4% since 2020
Households
2,776
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
195 sq. mi.
People per square mile
39
Median household income
$59,531
Average household income
$64,385
Median home value
$123,000
Jobs located here
779
Daytime population
5,514Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Oldham County, KY9473.0$23.3M+4.9%#20 of 2,070
2Scott County, KY9262.6$23.8M+8.2%#32 of 2,070
3Madison County, KY8651.3$42.6M+9.4%#89 of 2,070
4Jessamine County, KY80115.5$10.9M+7.8%#202 of 2,070
5Campbell County, KY79112.8$22M+2.5%#206 of 2,070
6Shelby County, KY78105.4$11.4M+6.2%#235 of 2,070
7Bullitt County, KY77206.3$9.8M+5.0%#260 of 2,070
8Woodford County, KY7654.6$13.5M+3.7%#266 of 2,070
9Kenton County, KY74416.1$10.2M+3.9%#330 of 2,070
10Nelson County, KY71126.3$9.3M+4.8%#394 of 2,070
Nicholas County, KYNot scored310.8$5M+5.4%

Other business types in Nicholas County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Nicholas County, KY?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 grocery stores in Nicholas County. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. No official count is published for supermarkets and grocery stores in Nicholas County: counts under 3 are left out.

How much do households in Nicholas County, KY spend on groceries?

About $14.9M a year, or $5,354 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $5M 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 2,776 households in Nicholas County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Nicholas County, KY compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Nicholas County has 10.8 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 59% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $5M, 47% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Nicholas County would have about 2, against 3 on map listings.

How fast is Nicholas County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Nicholas County at 7,949 people in 2025, up 5.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,776 households. The median household income in Nicholas County is $59,531 a year, 26% 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. 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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.