Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Nebraska

Grocery stores in the Norfolk, NE area

How the Norfolk, 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 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #344 of 506 scored small-town markets
#7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska

Listings
15
3 chain locations (20%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$113.8M
On groceries · $5,800 a household
Spending per listing
$7.6M
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.6
12% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,228
+1.1% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Norfolk 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 Norfolk area. 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 15 grocery stores in the Norfolk area. Chain locations make up 20% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That is 7.6 per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Household spending on groceries in the Norfolk area comes to about $113.8M a year: $5,800 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 15 grocery stores, that is $7.6M per store, 18% 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 14 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Norfolk area in 2023. That is one for every 1,401 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Norfolk area grew 1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery stores, the Norfolk area has a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle): #344 of 506 scored small-town markets and #7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska.

How the Norfolk 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.

Grocery stores in Norfolk, NE area compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureNorfolk areaNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.67.36.8
Spending per listing$7.6M$8.3M$9.3M
Households per official establishment1,4011,8912,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.0%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.1%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,800$6,088$6,319
Median household income$65,968$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market score4136

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14
Employees, 2023
754
Annual payroll, 2023
$13M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
153 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The 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 Norfolk 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 Norfolk area

Population, 2025 estimate
49,228+1.1% since 2020
Households
19,617
Median age
38.9
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,574 sq. mi.
People per square mile
31
Median household income
$65,968+18.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,357
Median home value
$204,700
Jobs located here
24,757
Daytime population
48,024Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Norfolk 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 Norfolk area. 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 small-town markets in Nebraska for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with the Norfolk area marked.

Top small-town markets in Nebraska

Small-town markets in Nebraska ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Scottsbluff, NE6685.2$10.9M−1.2%#102 of 506
2Hastings, NE6174.1$14.3M−0.2%#138 of 506
3Kearney, NE57187.9$7.6M+1.9%#196 of 506
4Columbus, NE50158.6$6.9M+3.8%#271 of 506
5Lexington, NE4588.0$7.4M+1.1%#315 of 506
6Fremont, NE43138.6$6.9M+2.6%#331 of 506
7Norfolk, NE41157.6$7.6M+1.1%#344 of 506
8North Platte, NE37117.2$7.9M−3.6%#374 of 506
9Beatrice, NE3699.6$6M+0.2%#386 of 506

Other business types in the Norfolk area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Norfolk, NE area?

The Norfolk area has 15 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Norfolk, NE area spend on groceries?

About $113.8M a year, or $5,800 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $7.6M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,617 households in the Norfolk area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Norfolk, NE area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Norfolk area has 7.6 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 12% 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 national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Norfolk area would have about 12, against 15 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,401 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is the Norfolk, NE area growing?

Population estimates put the Norfolk area at 49,228 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,617 households. Median household income in the Norfolk area is $65,968, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 18.2%, 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 Norfolk area scores 41 for grocery stores (lower middle), #344 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 Norfolk 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 Norfolk area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Norfolk 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 Norfolk 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.