Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Maryland

Grocery stores in Cecil County, MD

The grocery stores in Cecil County, MD, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 76 out of 100: High

Ranked #269 of 2,070 scored counties
#5 of 24 scored counties in Maryland

Listings
20
7 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
15
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$260.2M
On groceries · $6,410 a household
Spending per listing
$13M
40% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.9
28% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
107,131
+3.2% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Cecil 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 Cecil 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 20 grocery stores in Cecil County. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 4.9 for every 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Households in Cecil County spend about $260.2M a year on groceries, or $6,410 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $13M per store, 40% above 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 15 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Cecil County in 2023. That is one for every 2,706 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cecil County grew 3.2%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery stores, Cecil County has a Groundwork market score of 76 (high): #269 of 2,070 scored counties and #5 of 24 scored counties in Maryland. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Cecil County compares

The same measures for Maryland 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 Cecil County, MD compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureCecil CountyMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.96.36.8
Spending per listing$13M$10.6M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,7061,8812,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.9%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,410$6,737$6,319
Median household income$92,007$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score7655

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15 → 15
Employees, 2023
761
Annual payroll, 2023
$18.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
207 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
28The 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 Cecil 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 Cecil County

Population, 2025 estimate
107,131+3.2% since 2020
Households
40,595
Median age
42.3
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
346 sq. mi.
People per square mile
303
Median household income
$92,007+19.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,022
Median home value
$343,400
Jobs located here
32,838
Daytime population
90,110Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cecil 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 Cecil 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 Maryland

Every Maryland market ranked →

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

Top counties in Maryland

Counties in Maryland ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Queen Anne’s County, MD9294.5$15.3M+8.8%#38 of 2,070
2Frederick County, MD80636.0$11.8M+11.0%#200 of 2,070
3St. Mary’s County, MD78266.1$11.5M+2.4%#234 of 2,070
4Howard County, MD76675.5$13.7M+1.9%#265 of 2,070
5Cecil County, MD76204.9$13M+3.2%#269 of 2,070
6Calvert County, MD75133.9$18.8M+1.7%#284 of 2,070
7Harford County, MD75515.0$13.7M+2.0%#292 of 2,070
8Anne Arundel County, MD711195.3$13.5M+1.7%#367 of 2,070
9Carroll County, MD70355.4$12.9M+2.2%#404 of 2,070
10Charles County, MD70426.9$10.3M+5.9%#413 of 2,070

Other business types in Cecil County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Cecil County, MD?

There are 20 grocery stores on map listings in Cecil County as of September 2026. 7 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in Cecil County, MD spend on groceries?

About $260.2M a year, or $6,410 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 20 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $13M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 40,595 households in Cecil County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cecil County, MD compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Cecil County has 4.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $13M, 40% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Cecil County would have about 28, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,706 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is Cecil County, MD growing?

Population estimates put Cecil County at 107,131 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 40,595 households. Median household income in Cecil County is $92,007, 14% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.7%, 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. Cecil County scores 76 for grocery stores (high), #269 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cecil 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 Cecil 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.