Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Kentucky

Grocery stores in Union County, KY

How Union County, KY 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 12 out of 100: Low

Ranked #1,986 of 2,070 scored counties
#64 of 78 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
5
1 chain location (20%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$28.3M
On groceries · $5,446 a household
Spending per listing
$5.7M
39% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.6
41% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
12,839
−5.9% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Union 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 Union 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, Union County has a Groundwork market score of 12 (low): #1,986 of 2,070 scored counties and #64 of 78 scored counties in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 grocery stores in Union County. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.6, 41% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $5,446 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in Union County spend about $28.3M a year on groceries. That works out to $5.7M per store, 39% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Union County was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 1,040 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Union County declined 5.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Union 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 Union County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureUnion CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.67.66.8
Spending per listing$5.7M$7.5M$9.3M
Households per official establishment1,0402,5172,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.7%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−5.9%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,446$5,746$6,319
Median household income$60,327$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score1231

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 5
Employees, 2023
67
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
51 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3The 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 Union 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 Union County

Population, 2025 estimate
12,839−5.9% since 2020
Households
5,198
Median age
43.4
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
343 sq. mi.
People per square mile
39
Median household income
$60,327+29.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,009
Median home value
$104,500
Jobs located here
4,860
Daytime population
12,569Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Union 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 Union 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 Union 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
64Union County, KY1259.6$5.7M−5.9%#1,986 of 2,070

Other business types in Union County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Union County, KY?

There are 5 grocery stores on map listings in Union County as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

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

About $28.3M a year, or $5,446 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $5.7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,198 households in Union County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Union County has 9.6 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 41% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $5.7M, 39% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Union County would have about 3, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,040 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is Union County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Union County at 12,839 people in 2025, down 5.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 5,198 households. Median household income in Union County is $60,327, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.3%, 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. Union County scores 12 for grocery stores (low), #1,986 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Union 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 Union 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.