Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Pennsylvania
Grocery stores in the Lancaster, PA metro area
The grocery stores in the Lancaster, PA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #218 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 152
- 50 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 116
- −5.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.5B
- On groceries · $6,941 a household
- Spending per listing
- $9.7M
- 5% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.1
- 4% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 563,159
- +1.9% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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
Household spending on groceries in the Lancaster metro area comes to about $1.5B a year: $6,941 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. Spread across 152 grocery stores, that is $9.7M per store, 5% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
The Lancaster metro area has 152 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.1, 4% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 116 businesses with payroll in the Lancaster metro area classed as supermarkets and grocery stores, down 5.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,834 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $540K has gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lancaster metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lancaster metro area grew 1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Lancaster metro area scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #218 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.
How the Lancaster metro area compares
The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 | Lancaster metro area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.1 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $9.7M | $9.4M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,834 | 2,074 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −5.7% | −2.1% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,941 | $6,738 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $86,959 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 116−5.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 7,772
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $180.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 15250 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 159The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $540K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lancaster 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 Lancaster metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 563,159+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 212,748
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 944 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 591
- Median household income
- $86,959+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $112,346
- Median home value
- $301,100
- Jobs located here
- 258,003
- Daytime population
- 553,680Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Lancaster metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Gettysburg, PA | 89 | 17 | 4.2 | $16.4M | +3.6% | #6 of 387 |
| 2York-Hanover, PA | 80 | 97 | 5.3 | $12.8M | +3.6% | #21 of 387 |
| 3Williamsport, PA | 69 | 20 | 4.3 | $14.7M | −1.3% | #63 of 387 |
| 4State College, PA | 66 | 33 | 5.6 | $11.8M | −0.4% | #80 of 387 |
| 5Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 63 | 226 | 6.7 | $10.4M | +3.0% | #98 of 387 |
| 6Pittsburgh, PA | 61 | 635 | 6.0 | $11.2M | −1.3% | #115 of 387 |
| 7Chambersburg, PA | 61 | 39 | 6.1 | $10.8M | +3.0% | #117 of 387 |
| 8Altoona, PA | 56 | 29 | 5.7 | $10.9M | −2.5% | #151 of 387 |
| 9Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 56 | 183 | 7.4 | $9.1M | +4.2% | #157 of 387 |
| 10Lebanon, PA | 55 | 33 | 5.8 | $11.5M | +2.2% | #160 of 387 |
| 12Lancaster, PA | 47 | 152 | 7.1 | $9.7M | +1.9% | #218 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lancaster 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 stores58
- Grocery stores47
- Convenience stores76
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 Lancaster, PA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 152 grocery stores in the Lancaster metro area. 50 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 116 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, down 5.7% from 2019.
How much do households in the Lancaster, PA metro area spend on groceries?
About $1.5B a year, or $6,941 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 152 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $9.7M 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 212,748 households in the Lancaster metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lancaster, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Lancaster metro area has 7.1 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $9.7M, 5% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Lancaster metro area would have about 159, against 152 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,834 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.7% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lancaster, PA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lancaster metro area at 563,159 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 212,748 households. The median household income in the Lancaster metro area is $86,959 a year, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.6% 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 Lancaster metro area scores 47 for grocery stores (lower middle), #218 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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.