Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Vermont

Grocery stores in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area

The grocery stores in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 31 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #320 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Vermont

Listings
96
25 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
68
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$668.8M
On groceries · $7,073 a household
Spending per listing
$7M
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.2
50% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
227,803
+0.9% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Burlington-South Burlington 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 Burlington-South Burlington metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for grocery stores in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area is 31 (lower middle), #320 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Vermont. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 96 grocery stores in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area. 25 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.2, 50% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $7,073 per household (12% above the U.S. average), households in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area spend about $668.8M a year on groceries. That works out to $7M per store, 25% 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 Burlington-South Burlington metro area was 68 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,391 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $4.7M have gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Burlington-South Burlington metro area compares

The same measures for Vermont 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 Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area compared with Vermont and the U.S.
MeasureBurlington-South Burlington metro areaVermontU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.211.96.8
Spending per listing$7M$5.7M$9.3M
Households per official establishment1,3911,2372,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+3.3%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+0.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$7,073$6,795$6,319
Median household income$93,043$81,203$80,734
Groundwork market score3121

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
680.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,444
Annual payroll, 2023
$99.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
9625 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
72The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$4.7M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
227,803+0.9% since 2020
Households
94,559
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,250 sq. mi.
People per square mile
182
Median household income
$93,043+30.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$118,646
Median home value
$401,000
Jobs located here
121,615
Daytime population
237,948Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Other business types in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area?

The Burlington-South Burlington metro area has 96 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 25 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 68 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019.

How much do households in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area spend on groceries?

About $668.8M a year, or $7,073 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 96 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 94,559 households in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Burlington-South Burlington metro area has 10.2 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $7M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Burlington-South Burlington metro area would have about 72, against 96 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,391 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Burlington-South Burlington metro area at 227,803 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 94,559 households. Median household income in the Burlington-South Burlington metro area is $93,043, 15% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.3%, 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 Burlington-South Burlington metro area scores 31 for grocery stores (lower middle), #320 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 Burlington-South Burlington 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 Burlington-South Burlington metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Burlington-South Burlington 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 Burlington-South Burlington 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.