Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Nebraska
Grocery stores in the Kearney, NE area
How the Kearney, NE area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #196 of 506 scored small-town markets
#3 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska
- Listings
- 18
- 3 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $137M
- On groceries · $6,010 a household
- Spending per listing
- $7.6M
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.9
- 16% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 57,962
- +1.9% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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
Households in the Kearney area spend about $137M a year on groceries, or $6,010 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $7.6M per store, 18% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
There are 18 grocery stores on map listings in the Kearney area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 7.9 for every 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Kearney area in 2023. That is one for every 2,280 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Kearney area grew 1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery stores, the Kearney area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #196 of 506 scored small-town markets and #3 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska.
How the Kearney area compares
The same measures for Nebraska 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 | Kearney area | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.9 | 7.3 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $7.6M | $8.3M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,280 | 1,891 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +1.0% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,010 | $6,088 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $76,109 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 36 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10
- Employees, 2023
- 797
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $11.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 183 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The 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 Kearney 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 Kearney area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 57,962+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 22,798
- Median age
- 36.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,484 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 39
- Median household income
- $76,109+27.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,670
- Median home value
- $242,600
- Jobs located here
- 29,261
- Daytime population
- 59,015Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Kearney area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Kearney 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 Nebraska
Every Nebraska market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Nebraska for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with the Kearney area marked.
Top small-town markets in Nebraska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Scottsbluff, NE | 66 | 8 | 5.2 | $10.9M | −1.2% | #102 of 506 |
| 2Hastings, NE | 61 | 7 | 4.1 | $14.3M | −0.2% | #138 of 506 |
| 3Kearney, NE | 57 | 18 | 7.9 | $7.6M | +1.9% | #196 of 506 |
| 4Columbus, NE | 50 | 15 | 8.6 | $6.9M | +3.8% | #271 of 506 |
| 5Lexington, NE | 45 | 8 | 8.0 | $7.4M | +1.1% | #315 of 506 |
| 6Fremont, NE | 43 | 13 | 8.6 | $6.9M | +2.6% | #331 of 506 |
| 7Norfolk, NE | 41 | 15 | 7.6 | $7.6M | +1.1% | #344 of 506 |
| 8North Platte, NE | 37 | 11 | 7.2 | $7.9M | −3.6% | #374 of 506 |
| 9Beatrice, NE | 36 | 9 | 9.6 | $6M | +0.2% | #386 of 506 |
Other business types in the Kearney area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores75
- Grocery stores57
- Convenience stores80
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 Kearney, NE area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 18 grocery stores in the Kearney area. 3 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Kearney, NE area spend on groceries?
About $137M a year, or $6,010 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $7.6M 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 22,798 households in the Kearney area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Kearney, NE area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Kearney area has 7.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $7.6M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Kearney area would have about 15, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,280 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
How fast is the Kearney, NE area growing?
Population estimates put the Kearney area at 57,962 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 22,798 households. The median household income in the Kearney area is $76,109 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.9% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Kearney area scores 57 for grocery stores (upper middle), #196 of 506 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Kearney 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 Kearney area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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.