Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · South Carolina

Grocery stores in the Murrells Inlet, SC area

How the Murrells Inlet, SC 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 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #224 of 506 scored small-town markets
#4 of 6 scored small-town markets based in South Carolina

Listings
21
14 chain locations (67%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$161.1M
On groceries · $5,937 a household
Spending per listing
$7.7M
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.7
13% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
65,912
+3.8% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 grocery stores in the Murrells Inlet area. Of those, 14 are chain locations, or 67%, against 37% across the U.S. That comes to 7.7 for every 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $5,937 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the Murrells Inlet area spend about $161.1M a year on groceries. That works out to $7.7M per store, 17% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Murrells Inlet area in 2023. That is one for every 1,938 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Murrells Inlet area grew 3.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Murrells Inlet area is 55 (upper middle), #224 of 506 scored small-town markets and #4 of 6 scored small-town markets based in South Carolina.

How the Murrells Inlet area compares

The same measures for South 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 Murrells Inlet, SC area compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureMurrells Inlet areaSouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.76.86.8
Spending per listing$7.7M$8.7M$9.3M
Households per official establishment1,9382,3252,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.4%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.8%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,937$5,910$6,319
Median household income$68,713$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score5549

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14
Employees, 2023
803
Annual payroll, 2023
$18.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
2114 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The 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 Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet area

Population, 2025 estimate
65,912+3.8% since 2020
Households
27,129
Median age
50.9
Homes lived in by their owners
84%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
814 sq. mi.
People per square mile
80
Median household income
$68,713
Average household income
$100,202
Median home value
$289,500
Jobs located here
25,133
Daytime population
61,754Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Grocery stores across South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Carolina for grocery stores, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with the Murrells Inlet area marked.

Top small-town markets in South Carolina

Small-town markets in South Carolina ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Seneca, SC68216.1$9.4M+6.3%#89 of 506
2Gaffney, SC62115.0$10.7M+3.7%#131 of 506
3Newberry, SC56127.8$7.1M+4.8%#212 of 506
4Murrells Inlet, SC55217.7$7.7M+3.8%#224 of 506
5Greenwood, SC29379.8$5.6M+1.7%#433 of 506
6Orangeburg, SC19319.4$5.6M−0.9%#475 of 506

Other business types in the Murrells Inlet area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Murrells Inlet, SC area?

There are 21 grocery stores on map listings in the Murrells Inlet area as of September 2026. 14 of them (67%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Murrells Inlet, SC area spend on groceries?

About $161.1M a year, or $5,937 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $7.7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 27,129 households in the Murrells Inlet area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Murrells Inlet, SC area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Murrells Inlet area has 7.7 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $7.7M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Murrells Inlet area would have about 17, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,938 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is the Murrells Inlet, SC area growing?

Population estimates put the Murrells Inlet area at 65,912 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,129 households. Median household income in the Murrells Inlet area is $68,713, 15% 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 Murrells Inlet area scores 55 for grocery stores (upper middle), #224 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 Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet 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.