Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Massachusetts
Grocery stores in the Worcester, MA metro area
How the Worcester, MA 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 75 out of 100: High
Ranked #37 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 187
- 80 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 131
- +7.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.4B
- On groceries · $7,174 a household
- Spending per listing
- $12.9M
- 39% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.6
- 18% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 888,502
- +3.7% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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
The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Worcester metro area is 75 (high), #37 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for grocery stores.
Household spending on groceries in the Worcester metro area comes to about $2.4B a year: $7,174 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. Spread across 187 grocery stores, that is $12.9M per store, 39% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
The Worcester metro area has 187 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 80 of them (43%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. That is 5.6 per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Worcester metro area was 131 in 2023, up 7.4% from 2019. That is one for every 2,564 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $1.6M have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Worcester metro area. Population estimates show the Worcester metro area grew 3.7% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Worcester metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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 | Worcester metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.6 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $12.9M | $10.9M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,564 | 2,066 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.4% | +1.4% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.7% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $7,174 | $7,382 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $95,939 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 75 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 131+7.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 9,802
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $258.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 18780 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 259The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $1.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Worcester 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 Worcester metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 888,502+3.7% since 2020
- Households
- 335,826
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,511 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 574
- Median household income
- $95,939
- Average household income
- $124,653
- Median home value
- $423,700
- Jobs located here
- 355,505
- Daytime population
- 797,239Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Worcester metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Worcester, MA | 75 | 187 | 5.6 | $12.9M | +3.7% | #37 of 387 |
| 2Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 63 | 40 | 6.4 | $10.8M | +10.4% | #96 of 387 |
| 3Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 61 | 1,306 | 6.7 | $11.3M | +2.3% | #114 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 61 | 426 | 6.3 | $11M | +2.1% | #116 of 387 |
| 4Barnstable Town, MA | 40 | 89 | 8.4 | $8.6M | +2.4% | #261 of 387 |
| 5Springfield, MA | 37 | 134 | 7.3 | $9M | +0.2% | #279 of 387 |
| 6Pittsfield, MA | 36 | 47 | 8.2 | $8.2M | −1.2% | #289 of 387 |
Other business types in the Worcester 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 stores67
- Grocery stores75
- Convenience stores58
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 Worcester, MA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 187 grocery stores in the Worcester metro area. 80 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 131 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, up 7.4% from 2019.
How much do households in the Worcester, MA metro area spend on groceries?
About $2.4B a year, or $7,174 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 187 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $12.9M 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 335,826 households in the Worcester metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Worcester, MA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Worcester metro area has 5.6 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $12.9M, 39% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Worcester metro area would have about 259, against 187 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,564 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.4% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Worcester, MA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Worcester metro area at 888,502 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,826 households. The median household income in the Worcester metro area is $95,939 a year, 19% above 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 Worcester metro area scores 75 for grocery stores (high), #37 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 Worcester 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 Worcester metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Worcester 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 Worcester 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.