Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · New York

Grocery stores in the Elmira, NY metro area

The grocery stores in the Elmira, NY metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #199 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
22
7 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$221.1M
On groceries · $6,269 a household
Spending per listing
$10M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.2
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
80,415
−3.9% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Elmira 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 Elmira metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on groceries in the Elmira metro area comes to about $221.1M a year: $6,269 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $10M of household spending for each store on map listings, 8% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

There are 22 grocery stores on map listings in the Elmira metro area as of September 2026. 7 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.2, 9% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Elmira metro area classed as supermarkets and grocery stores. That is one for every 2,939 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the Elmira metro area declined 3.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Elmira metro area is 51 (upper middle), #199 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.

How the Elmira metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Elmira, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureElmira metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.29.96.8
Spending per listing$10M$7.1M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,9399262,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−10.0%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.9%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,269$6,985$6,319
Median household income$63,716$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score5122

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
735
Annual payroll, 2023
$20.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
227 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The 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 Elmira 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 Elmira metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
80,415−3.9% since 2020
Households
35,262
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
407 sq. mi.
People per square mile
202
Median household income
$63,716+16.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,374
Median home value
$141,100
Jobs located here
31,723
Daytime population
81,216Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Elmira 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 Elmira metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery stores across New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for grocery stores, numbered among those based in New York, with the Elmira metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kingston, NY57435.8$12M+1.1%#142 of 387
2Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY531787.0$10.3M+3.0%#182 of 387
3Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY522646.9$10.1M+1.9%#190 of 387
4Elmira, NY51226.2$10M−3.9%#199 of 387
5Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY462996.0$11M−0.8%#221 of 387
6Rochester, NY462976.7$10M−0.7%#225 of 387
7Ithaca, NY40317.2$9.3M−1.4%#260 of 387
8Binghamton, NY36706.8$9.3M−1.3%#287 of 387
9Utica-Rome, NY34877.2$8.9M−2.0%#300 of 387
10Syracuse, NY342137.9$8.4M−1.3%#301 of 387

Other business types in the Elmira metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Elmira, NY metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 22 grocery stores in the Elmira metro area. 7 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Elmira, NY metro area spend on groceries?

About $221.1M a year, or $6,269 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $10M 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 35,262 households in the Elmira metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Elmira, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Elmira metro area has 6.2 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $10M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Elmira metro area would have about 24, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,939 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is the Elmira, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Elmira metro area at 80,415 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 35,262 households. The median household income in the Elmira metro area is $63,716 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 16.0% 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. The Elmira metro area scores 51 for grocery stores (upper middle), #199 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 Elmira 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 Elmira metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elmira 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 Elmira 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.