Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Tennessee

Grocery stores in the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metro area

How the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA 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 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #212 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee

Listings
74
40 chain locations (54%)
Official establishments
42
−14.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$730.8M
On groceries · $5,581 a household
Spending per listing
$9.9M
6% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.7
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
314,834
+2.3% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Kingsport-Bristol 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 Kingsport-Bristol metro 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 74 grocery stores in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area. Of those, 40 are chain locations, or 54%, against 37% across the U.S. That is 5.7 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $5,581 per household (12% below the U.S. average), households in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area spend about $730.8M a year on groceries. Spread across 74 grocery stores, that is $9.9M per store, 6% above 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 Kingsport-Bristol metro area was 42 in 2023, down 14.3% from 2019. That is one for every 3,118 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $675K has gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Kingsport-Bristol metro area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery stores, the Kingsport-Bristol metro area has a Groundwork market score of 48 (lower middle): #212 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee.

How the Kingsport-Bristol metro area compares

The same measures for Tennessee 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 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metro area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureKingsport-Bristol metro areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.77.16.8
Spending per listing$9.9M$8.4M$9.3M
Households per official establishment3,1182,6222,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−14.3%+11.3%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,581$5,923$6,319
Median household income$57,792$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score4850

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
42−14.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,849
Annual payroll, 2023
$68.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
7440 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
79The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$675K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Kingsport-Bristol 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 Kingsport-Bristol metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
314,834+2.3% since 2020
Households
130,939
Median age
45.5
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,011 sq. mi.
People per square mile
155
Median household income
$57,792+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,119
Median home value
$198,400
Jobs located here
120,004
Daytime population
304,648Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Grocery stores across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Tennessee for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Kingsport-Bristol metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Knoxville, TN682015.3$11.2M+6.9%#73 of 387
2Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN615626.8$9.4M+8.7%#120 of 387
3Clarksville, TN-KY55786.2$9.3M+8.5%#170 of 387
4Cleveland, TN54316.2$9.2M+6.1%#178 of 387
5Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA48745.7$9.9M+2.3%#212 of 387
6Chattanooga, TN-GA431747.5$8M+5.3%#247 of 387
7Morristown, TN43367.5$7.5M+7.9%#248 of 387
8Johnson City, TN36687.6$7.3M+4.3%#291 of 387
9Memphis, TN-MS-AR323787.2$8.1M−0.3%#313 of 387
10Jackson, TN21628.6$6.5M+2.2%#362 of 387

Other business types in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metro area?

There are 74 grocery stores on map listings in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area as of September 2026. 40 of them (54%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, down 14.3% from 2019.

How much do households in the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metro area spend on groceries?

About $730.8M a year, or $5,581 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 74 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $9.9M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 130,939 households in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Kingsport-Bristol metro area has 5.7 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $9.9M, 6% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Kingsport-Bristol metro area would have about 79, against 74 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,118 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count fell 14.3% from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Kingsport-Bristol metro area at 314,834 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 130,939 households. Median household income in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area is $57,792, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.8%, 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 Kingsport-Bristol metro area scores 48 for grocery stores (lower middle), #212 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 Kingsport-Bristol 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 Kingsport-Bristol metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kingsport-Bristol 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 Kingsport-Bristol 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.