Groceries and convenience · Metro area · North Carolina
Grocery stores in the Rocky Mount, NC metro area
How the Rocky Mount, NC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 18 out of 100: Low
Ranked #376 of 387 scored metro areas
#15 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 54
- 25 chain locations (46%)
- Official establishments
- 33
- +6.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $327.9M
- On groceries · $5,610 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.1M
- 35% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.2
- 35% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 148,486
- +2.8% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro 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
For grocery stores, the Rocky Mount metro area has a Groundwork market score of 18 (low): #376 of 387 scored metro areas and #15 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 54 grocery stores in the Rocky Mount metro area. Of those, 25 are chain locations, or 46%, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.2, 35% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
At $5,610 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in the Rocky Mount metro area spend about $327.9M a year on groceries. That works out to $6.1M per store, 35% 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 Rocky Mount metro area was 33 in 2023, up 6.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,771 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Rocky Mount metro area grew 2.8%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Rocky Mount metro 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 | Rocky Mount metro area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.2 | 7.4 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $6.1M | $8.1M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,771 | 2,134 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.5% | +3.5% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.8% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,610 | $6,016 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $59,636 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 18 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 33+6.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,233
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $26.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5425 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 35The 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 Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 148,486+2.8% since 2020
- Households
- 58,449
- Median age
- 41.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,046 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 139
- Median household income
- $59,636+33.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,773
- Median home value
- $167,800
- Jobs located here
- 55,119
- Daytime population
- 136,134Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro 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 metro areas in North Carolina for grocery stores, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Rocky Mount metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 62 | 159 | 6.4 | $9.9M | +7.5% | #109 of 387 |
| 2Raleigh-Cary, NC | 60 | 384 | 6.7 | $10M | +12.6% | #128 of 387 |
| 3Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 58 | 716 | 6.7 | $9.5M | +10.1% | #140 of 387 |
| 4Jacksonville, NC | 57 | 44 | 5.8 | $9.9M | +6.0% | #147 of 387 |
| 5Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | 56 | 28 | 6.4 | $9.8M | +10.3% | #155 of 387 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 54 | 422 | 6.0 | $10.5M | +0.9% | #175 of 387 |
| 6Wilmington, NC | 51 | 134 | 6.7 | $9.1M | +15.9% | #201 of 387 |
| 7Burlington, NC | 39 | 47 | 6.7 | $8.6M | +8.5% | #267 of 387 |
| 8Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 34 | 101 | 6.8 | $8.4M | +3.2% | #302 of 387 |
| 9Greenville, NC | 33 | 53 | 7.1 | $7.9M | +5.4% | #307 of 387 |
| 15Rocky Mount, NC | 18 | 54 | 9.2 | $6.1M | +2.8% | #376 of 387 |
Other business types in the Rocky Mount metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores20
- Grocery stores18
- Convenience stores26
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 Rocky Mount, NC metro area?
There are 54 grocery stores on map listings in the Rocky Mount metro area as of September 2026. 25 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 33 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, up 6.5% from 2019.
How much do households in the Rocky Mount, NC metro area spend on groceries?
About $327.9M a year, or $5,610 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 54 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $6.1M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 58,449 households in the Rocky Mount metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Rocky Mount, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Rocky Mount metro area has 9.2 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 35% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $6.1M, 35% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Rocky Mount metro area would have about 35, against 54 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,771 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.5% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Rocky Mount, NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Rocky Mount metro area at 148,486 people in 2025, up 2.8% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 58,449 households. Median household income in the Rocky Mount metro area is $59,636, 26% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 33.8%, 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 Rocky Mount metro area scores 18 for grocery stores (low), #376 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 Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount 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.