Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · North Carolina

Grocery stores in Yancey County, NC

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery stores in Yancey County, NC, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,462 of 2,070 scored counties
#61 of 87 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
8
3 chain locations (38%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$45.9M
On groceries · $5,648 a household
Spending per listing
$5.7M
38% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.8
44% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
19,084
+3.2% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Yancey 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 Yancey County. 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

Households in Yancey County spend about $45.9M a year on groceries, or $5,648 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 8 grocery stores, that is $5.7M per store, 38% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

Yancey County has 8 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 38%, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.8, 44% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Yancey County in 2023. That is one for every 2,033 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Yancey County grew 3.2% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Yancey County scores 37 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #1,462 of 2,070 scored counties and #61 of 87 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Yancey County 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.

Grocery stores in Yancey County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureYancey CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.87.46.8
Spending per listing$5.7M$8.1M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,0332,1342,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.5%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,648$6,016$6,319
Median household income$58,709$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score3743

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 4
Employees, 2023
282
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
83 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
5The 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 Yancey 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 Yancey County

Population, 2025 estimate
19,084+3.2% since 2020
Households
8,130
Median age
48.6
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
313 sq. mi.
People per square mile
60
Median household income
$58,709+39.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,965
Median home value
$243,100
Jobs located here
4,832
Daytime population
17,017Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Yancey 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 Yancey County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery stores across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for grocery stores, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Yancey County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hoke County, NC8152.6$22.1M+9.0%#159 of 2,070
2Lincoln County, NC79215.7$10.9M+13.2%#225 of 2,070
3Davie County, NC77105.8$10.6M+6.9%#258 of 2,070
4Brunswick County, NC76395.6$10.8M+26.5%#278 of 2,070
5Durham County, NC75866.1$10.4M+7.7%#304 of 2,070
6Cabarrus County, NC74495.8$11M+9.9%#321 of 2,070
7Rowan County, NC71315.3$11M+5.6%#388 of 2,070
8Wake County, NC703056.6$10.3M+11.2%#412 of 2,070
9Union County, NC70607.1$9.5M+11.7%#420 of 2,070
10Chatham County, NC69237.0$9.5M+11.0%#444 of 2,070
61Yancey County, NC3789.8$5.7M+3.2%#1,462 of 2,070

Other business types in Yancey County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Yancey County, NC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 grocery stores in Yancey County. 3 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in Yancey County, NC spend on groceries?

About $45.9M a year, or $5,648 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $5.7M 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 8,130 households in Yancey County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Yancey County, NC compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Yancey County has 9.8 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 44% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $5.7M, 38% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Yancey County would have about 5, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,033 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is Yancey County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Yancey County at 19,084 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,130 households. The median household income in Yancey County is $58,709 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 39.1% 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. Yancey County scores 37 for grocery stores (lower middle), #1,462 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Yancey 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 Yancey 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.