Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Nebraska

Grocery stores in Kearney County, NE

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

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
4
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$17.2M
On groceries · $6,103 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
54% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.2
2.1 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,790
+1.5% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Kearney 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 Kearney 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 4 grocery stores in Kearney County. That is 14.2 per 10,000 households, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Household spending on groceries in Kearney County comes to about $17.2M a year: $6,103 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4.3M per store, 54% below 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 3 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Kearney County in 2023. That is one for every 938 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Kearney County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Kearney County 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.

Grocery stores in Kearney County, NE compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureKearney CountyNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.27.36.8
Spending per listing$4.3M$8.3M$9.3M
Households per official establishment9381,8912,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.0%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.5%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,103$6,088$6,319
Median household income$78,631$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored36

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
34
Annual payroll, 2023
$822K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
40 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Kearney 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 Kearney County

Population, 2025 estimate
6,790+1.5% since 2020
Households
2,814
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.5
Land area
516 sq. mi.
People per square mile
13
Median household income
$78,631
Average household income
$109,259
Median home value
$223,400
Jobs located here
1,960
Daytime population
5,454Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Kearney 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 Kearney 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 Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

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

Top counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sarpy County, NE95263.5$19.1M+9.0%#13 of 2,070
2Lancaster County, NE72634.7$12.8M+3.4%#351 of 2,070
3Douglas County, NE651536.4$9.7M+3.6%#547 of 2,070
4Saunders County, NE6266.7$9.5M+6.0%#627 of 2,070
5Platte County, NE6296.6$9M+3.9%#632 of 2,070
6Scotts Bluff County, NE5985.3$10.7M−1.3%#708 of 2,070
7Buffalo County, NE58147.0$8.6M+1.9%#756 of 2,070
8Dakota County, NE4056.7$8.8M+0.7%#1,342 of 2,070
9Dawson County, NE4088.7$6.8M+1.5%#1,359 of 2,070
10Dodge County, NE38138.6$6.9M+2.6%#1,427 of 2,070
Kearney County, NENot scored414.2$4.3M+1.5%

Other business types in Kearney County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Kearney County, NE?

Kearney County has 4 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in Kearney County, NE spend on groceries?

About $17.2M a year, or $6,103 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $4.3M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,814 households in Kearney County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Kearney County, NE compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Kearney County has 14.2 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $4.3M, 54% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Kearney County would have about 2, against 4 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 938 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is Kearney County, NE growing?

Population estimates put Kearney County at 6,790 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,814 households. Median household income in Kearney County is $78,631, 3% below 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Kearney 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 Kearney 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.