Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Maine

Grocery stores in the Bangor, ME metro area

How the Bangor, ME 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #245 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 3 scored metro areas based in Maine

Listings
50
16 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
30
−11.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$415.9M
On groceries · $6,377 a household
Spending per listing
$8.3M
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.7
13% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
157,967
+3.8% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Bangor 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 Bangor 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 50 grocery stores in the Bangor metro area. 16 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 7.7 for every 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $6,377 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Bangor metro area spend about $415.9M a year on groceries. That is about $8.3M of household spending for each store on map listings, 10% 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 the Bangor metro area was 30 in 2023, down 11.8% from 2019. That is one for every 2,174 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bangor metro area grew 3.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Bangor metro area is 43 (lower middle), #245 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 3 scored metro areas based in Maine.

How the Bangor metro area compares

The same measures for Maine 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 Bangor, ME metro area compared with Maine and the U.S.
MeasureBangor metro areaMaineU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.78.96.8
Spending per listing$8.3M$7.4M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,1741,6732,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−11.8%−3.0%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.8%+3.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,377$6,619$6,319
Median household income$66,356$74,733$80,734
Groundwork market score4335

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
30−11.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,015
Annual payroll, 2023
$53.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
5016 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
45The 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 Bangor 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 Bangor metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
157,967+3.8% since 2020
Households
65,221
Median age
43.4
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
3,397 sq. mi.
People per square mile
46
Median household income
$66,356+30.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,290
Median home value
$214,100
Jobs located here
73,466
Daytime population
158,403Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Bangor 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 Bangor 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 Maine

Every Maine market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Maine for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Maine, with the Bangor metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Maine

Metro areas in Maine ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Portland-South Portland, ME501847.7$9.2M+4.5%#206 of 387
2Lewiston-Auburn, ME46326.8$9.3M+4.8%#227 of 387
3Bangor, ME43507.7$8.3M+3.8%#245 of 387

Other business types in the Bangor metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Bangor, ME metro area?

The Bangor metro area has 50 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 16 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 30 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, down 11.8% from 2019.

How much do households in the Bangor, ME metro area spend on groceries?

About $415.9M a year, or $6,377 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $8.3M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 65,221 households in the Bangor metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Bangor, ME metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Bangor metro area has 7.7 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $8.3M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Bangor metro area would have about 45, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,174 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count fell 11.8% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Bangor, ME metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Bangor metro area at 157,967 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 65,221 households. Median household income in the Bangor metro area is $66,356, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.6%, 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 Bangor metro area scores 43 for grocery stores (lower middle), #245 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 Bangor 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 Bangor metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bangor 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 Bangor 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.