Groceries and convenience · County · Mississippi
Grocery stores in Clay County, MS
How Clay County, MS 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 7 out of 100: Very low
Ranked #2,044 of 2,070 scored counties
#56 of 61 scored counties in Mississippi
- Listings
- 10
- 3 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $39.9M
- On groceries · $5,116 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4M
- 57% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.8
- 88% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,238
- −2.0% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in Clay 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 Clay County. 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
Clay County scores 7 (very low) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #2,044 of 2,070 scored counties and #56 of 61 scored counties in Mississippi. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Households in Clay County spend about $39.9M a year on groceries, or $5,116 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4M per store, 57% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
Clay County has 10 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 30% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.8, 88% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for supermarkets and grocery stores in Clay County, since they leave out counts under 3. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Clay County declined 2.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Clay County compares
The same measures for Mississippi 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 | Clay County | Mississippi | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.8 | 8.1 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4M | $6.9M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 2,828 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +1.3% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.0% | −0.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,116 | $5,547 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $43,125 | $56,447 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 7 | 25 |
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
- 103 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4The 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 Clay 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 Clay County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,238−2.0% since 2020
- Households
- 7,805
- Median age
- 41.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 410 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 45
- Median household income
- $43,125+35.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $63,753
- Median home value
- $129,100
- Jobs located here
- 7,035
- Daytime population
- 17,349Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Clay 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 Clay County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery stores across Mississippi
Every Mississippi market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Mississippi for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Mississippi, with Clay County marked.
Top counties in Mississippi
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DeSoto County, MS | 84 | 33 | 4.6 | $13.4M | +6.3% | #122 of 2,070 |
| 2Rankin County, MS | 80 | 30 | 5.0 | $12.3M | +3.2% | #197 of 2,070 |
| 3Hancock County, MS | 76 | 9 | 4.4 | $13.1M | +1.6% | #267 of 2,070 |
| 4Jackson County, MS | 71 | 31 | 5.4 | $10.8M | +3.0% | #389 of 2,070 |
| 5Madison County, MS | 67 | 30 | 6.8 | $9.2M | +6.5% | #487 of 2,070 |
| 6Lafayette County, MS | 65 | 16 | 8.4 | $7.1M | +6.6% | #552 of 2,070 |
| 7Harrison County, MS | 62 | 57 | 6.8 | $8.2M | +4.0% | #634 of 2,070 |
| 8Oktibbeha County, MS | 59 | 11 | 5.0 | $10.6M | +0.4% | #710 of 2,070 |
| 9Lamar County, MS | 54 | 21 | 8.3 | $7.2M | +4.7% | #893 of 2,070 |
| 10Pearl River County, MS | 54 | 20 | 9.1 | $6.1M | +5.6% | #897 of 2,070 |
| 56Clay County, MS | 7 | 10 | 12.8 | $4M | −2.0% | #2,044 of 2,070 |
Other business types in Clay County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores8
- Grocery stores7
- Convenience stores11
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 Clay County, MS?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 grocery stores in Clay County. 3 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. No official count is published for supermarkets and grocery stores in Clay County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Clay County, MS spend on groceries?
About $39.9M a year, or $5,116 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $4M 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 7,805 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Clay County, MS compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
Clay County has 12.8 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 88% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $4M, 57% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Clay County would have about 4, against 10 on map listings.
How fast is Clay County, MS growing?
Population estimates put Clay County at 18,238 people in 2025, down 2.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,805 households. The median household income in Clay County is $43,125 a year, 47% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Clay County scores 7 for grocery stores (very low), #2,044 of 2,070 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Clay 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 Clay County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay 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 Clay 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.