Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · North Carolina
Grocery stores in the Elizabeth City, NC area
How the Elizabeth City, NC 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 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #278 of 506 scored small-town markets
#9 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 14
- 9 chain locations (64%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $90.5M
- On groceries · $5,732 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.5M
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.9
- 31% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,201
- +4.5% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 14 grocery stores in the Elizabeth City area. 9 of them (64%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.9, 31% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
At $5,732 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Elizabeth City area spend about $90.5M a year on groceries. Spread across 14 grocery stores, that is $6.5M per store, 30% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Elizabeth City area was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 2,255 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Elizabeth City area grew 4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Elizabeth City area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #278 of 506 scored small-town markets and #9 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Elizabeth City area compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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 | Elizabeth City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.9 | 7.4 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $6.5M | $8.1M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,255 | 2,134 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.5% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,732 | $6,016 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $66,589 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 375
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 149 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 10The 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 Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,201+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,785
- Median age
- 41.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 227 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 180
- Median household income
- $66,589
- Average household income
- $85,046
- Median home value
- $234,600
- Jobs located here
- 15,323
- Daytime population
- 38,788Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for grocery stores, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Elizabeth City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 67 | 41 | 8.2 | $7.1M | +12.3% | #97 of 506 |
| 2Marion, NC | 58 | 12 | 6.4 | $8.6M | +1.5% | #175 of 506 |
| 3Brevard, NC | 56 | 10 | 6.9 | $8.5M | +2.9% | #207 of 506 |
| 4Forest City, NC | 55 | 18 | 6.8 | $8M | +2.1% | #220 of 506 |
| 5Waynesville, NC | 53 | 22 | 8.1 | $7M | +1.9% | #245 of 506 |
| 6Sanford, NC | 51 | 19 | 7.6 | $7.6M | +10.8% | #262 of 506 |
| 7Morehead City, NC | 51 | 30 | 9.4 | $6.4M | +4.1% | #265 of 506 |
| 8New Bern, NC | 49 | 38 | 7.2 | $7.9M | +3.6% | #274 of 506 |
| 9Elizabeth City, NC | 49 | 14 | 8.9 | $6.5M | +4.5% | #278 of 506 |
| 10Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 44 | 32 | 8.2 | $6.7M | +3.4% | #324 of 506 |
Other business types in the Elizabeth City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores68
- Grocery stores49
- Convenience stores60
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 Elizabeth City, NC area?
The Elizabeth City area has 14 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (64%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Elizabeth City, NC area spend on groceries?
About $90.5M a year, or $5,732 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $6.5M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,785 households in the Elizabeth City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Elizabeth City, NC area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Elizabeth City area has 8.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $6.5M, 30% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Elizabeth City area would have about 10, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,255 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
How fast is the Elizabeth City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Elizabeth City area at 42,201 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,785 households. Median household income in the Elizabeth City area is $66,589, 18% 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. 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 Elizabeth City area scores 49 for grocery stores (lower middle), #278 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 Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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.