Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · West Virginia

Grocery stores in the Fairmont, WV area

The grocery stores in the Fairmont, WV area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #269 of 506 scored small-town markets
#1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia

Listings
18
11 chain locations (61%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$134.4M
On groceries · $5,760 a household
Spending per listing
$7.5M
20% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.7
13% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
55,584
−1.2% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Fairmont 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 Fairmont 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

At $5,760 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Fairmont area spend about $134.4M a year on groceries. That works out to $7.5M per store, 20% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

The Fairmont area has 18 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 61% of them, against 37% across the U.S. That is 7.7 per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 6.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Fairmont area was 8 in 2023. That is one for every 2,917 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the Fairmont area declined 1.2% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Fairmont area scores 50 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #269 of 506 scored small-town markets and #1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia.

How the Fairmont area compares

The same measures for West Virginia 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 Fairmont, WV area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureFairmont areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.76.56.8
Spending per listing$7.5M$8.7M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,9172,8032,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−13.6%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.2%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,760$5,613$6,319
Median household income$67,370$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score5033

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
253
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1811 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The 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 Fairmont 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 Fairmont area

Population, 2025 estimate
55,584−1.2% since 2020
Households
23,339
Median age
41.1
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
309 sq. mi.
People per square mile
181
Median household income
$67,370+33.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,263
Median home value
$166,700
Jobs located here
18,773
Daytime population
50,587Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery stores across West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in West Virginia for grocery stores, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fairmont area marked.

Top small-town markets in West Virginia

Small-town markets in West Virginia ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fairmont, WV50187.7$7.5M−1.2%#269 of 506
Cumberland, MD-WV48194.9$11.3M−1.3%#280 of 506
2Bluefield, WV-VA46225.4$9.9M−3.8%#302 of 506
3Clarksburg, WV42287.9$7.2M−2.4%#337 of 506
4Elkins, WV3998.4$6.5M−3.6%#361 of 506

Other business types in the Fairmont area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Fairmont, WV area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 grocery stores in the Fairmont area. 11 of them (61%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Fairmont, WV area spend on groceries?

About $134.4M a year, or $5,760 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $7.5M 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 23,339 households in the Fairmont area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fairmont, WV area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Fairmont area has 7.7 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $7.5M, 20% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Fairmont area would have about 15, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,917 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is the Fairmont, WV area growing?

Population estimates put the Fairmont area at 55,584 people in 2025, down 1.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 23,339 households. The median household income in the Fairmont area is $67,370 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.9% 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. 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 Fairmont area scores 50 for grocery stores (upper middle), #269 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 Fairmont 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 Fairmont area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fairmont 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 Fairmont 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.