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Orange County, CA — Grocery stores Saturation

How many grocery stores exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 135 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Supermarkets · Grocery stores · Neighborhood food markets. Counted together because official statistics use one 445110 code.

Measured density: Below average — 0.78× the U.S. rate (between 0.78× and 0.86× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 73 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 26 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Below the U.S. rate   Orange County grocery stores — 78–86% of the U.S. rate

478 grocery stores are counted in Orange County — 1.2 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 78% of the U.S. rate of 1.6.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has stayed roughly flat between 2015 and 2023 (471 → 460).

Measured supply density is highest in 92843 (Garden Grove), 92604 (Irvine), 92673 (San Clemente) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 92618 (Irvine), 92705 (Santa Ana), 92802 (Anaheim).

BLS QCEW puts the latest county-wide count (2026 Q1) at 550 establishments, the freshest available signal.

Measured density: Orange County sits at 78% of the U.S. rate for grocery stores. 26 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 78% and 86% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 92843 and 92604; the lowest measured density is in 92618 and 92705.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing grocery stores and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Grocery stores
478–624
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (73 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
1.2
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
1.6
per 10,000 present
County index
0.78×
vs. U.S.
Latest quarter (QCEW)
550
2026 Q1 — county total
Residents
3,175,270
88 ZIPs with data
Workers
1,572,620
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
3,170,435
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
−0.5%
−15,826 people
Net migration 2024
+7,389
international +29,759, domestic −22,370
Jobs located here
1,697,322
LODES 2022, +0.7% since 2019

Orange County had an estimated 3,170,435 residents on July 1, 2024 — 0.5% fewer than in 2020 (−15,826). In the latest year it gained 15,872 people: births minus deaths +8,437, international migration +29,759, domestic migration −22,370. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

1,697,322 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+0.7% since 2019), and 1,480,984 employed residents lived there (−1.0% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
92617 Irvine
+39.7%
92618 Irvine
+35.0%
92782 Tustin
+30.3%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
92610 Foothill Ranch
−21.4%
92701 Santa Ana
−13.1%
92691 Mission Viejo
−9.8%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses

Not shown. Census publishes grocery stores only combined with convenience stores in this dataset, so a grocery-only nonemployer count is not published.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (NAICS 2022). We do not approximate this figure.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more grocery stores in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — down 2% since 2015

Number of grocery stores in Orange County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

471
2015
462
2018
460
2020
469
2021
467
2022
460
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
92843 Garden Grove
232%
92604 Irvine
170%
92673 San Clemente
166%
92832 Fullerton
156%
92627 Costa Mesa
148%
92683 Westminster
143%
92701 Santa Ana
142%
92831 Fullerton
141%
90621 Buena Park
139%
90623 La Palma
137%
92780 Tustin
133%
92630 Lake Forest
130%
92653 Laguna Hills
129%
90631 La Habra
127%
92844 Garden Grove
125%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
92618 Irvine
24%
92705 Santa Ana
34%
92802 Anaheim
37%
92620 Irvine
39%
92656 Aliso Viejo
40%
92691 Mission Viejo
45%
92807 Anaheim
51%
92612 Irvine
56%
92821 Brea
57%
92833 Fullerton
57%
92805 Anaheim
59%
92602 Irvine
59%
92660 Newport Beach
59%
92886 Yorba Linda
60%
92688 Rancho Santa Margarita
62%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few grocery stores may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersGrocery storesIndex
92614Irvine Employment hub 29,23971,739 0–2 —

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = grocery stores per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersGrocery stores Per 10kIndexStatus
92843Garden Grove 46,41412,390 19 3.6 232% High density
92604Irvine 26,4917,418 8 2.6 170% High density
92673San Clemente 29,40611,028 9 2.6 166% High density
92832Fullerton 27,29811,170 8 2.4 156% High density
92627Costa Mesa 60,39318,633 16 2.3 148% Above average
92683Westminster 89,83318,171 22 2.2 143% Above average
92701Santa Ana 47,81813,166 12 2.2 142% Above average
92831Fullerton 35,61819,845 10 2.2 141% Above average
90621Buena Park 35,98411,275 9 2.2 139% Above average
90623La Palma 15,5456,336 4 2.1 137% Above average
92780Tustin 54,37436,196 15 2.1 133% Above average
92630Lake Forest 67,15224,355 16 2.0 130% Above average
92653Laguna Hills 29,62420,458 8 2.0 129% Above average
90631La Habra 68,30915,356 15 2.0 127% Above average
92844Garden Grove 23,1885,028 5 1.9 125% Above average
92708Fountain Valley 56,25828,817 13 1.8 118% Above average
92629Dana Point 25,5799,121 5 1.7 107% Above average
92704Santa Ana 82,12029,907 16 1.6 106% Above average
92648Huntington Beach 45,82717,805 9 1.6 106% Above average
92801Anaheim 60,54726,223 12 1.6 105% Above average
92646Huntington Beach 54,6157,213 9 1.5 99% Below average
92869Orange 36,2715,428 6 1.5 99% Below average
92703Santa Ana 62,4475,941 10 1.5 98% Below average
92841Garden Grove 33,21913,789 6 1.5 96% Below average
92804Anaheim 83,5378,751 13 1.5 95% Below average
92867Orange 44,72619,456 8 1.5 94% Below average
92707Santa Ana 58,69524,470 10 1.4 91% Below average
92675San Juan Capistrano 35,09515,336 6 1.4 90% Below average
92651Laguna Beach 23,55710,107 4 1.4 90% Below average
92647Huntington Beach 59,04726,672 10 1.4 89% Below average
90620Buena Park 46,60823,068 8 1.4 88% Below average
92649Huntington Beach 35,34617,452 6 1.4 88% Below average
92840Garden Grove 54,5349,589 8 1.3 87% Below average
90720Los Alamitos 23,80515,195 4 1.3 82% Below average
92887Yorba Linda 19,7257,810 3 1.3 82% Below average
92677Laguna Niguel 64,13915,621 9 1.3 80% Below average
92706Santa Ana 37,1756,316 5 1.2 80% Below average
92672San Clemente 36,93912,008 5 1.2 75% Below average
92782Tustin 30,0739,254 4 1.2 74% Below average
92606Irvine 23,99022,200 4 1.1 73% Below average
90680Stanton 31,9917,219 4 1.1 72% Below average
92626Costa Mesa 50,70861,637 9 1.1 71% Below average
92806Anaheim 41,00347,143 7 1.1 70% Below average
92865Orange 20,58917,444 3 1.0 66% Below average
92870Placentia 52,82612,959 6 1.0 65% Below average
90740Seal Beach 24,25411,439 3 1.0 64% Below average
92692Mission Viejo 47,0226,539 5 1.0 64% Below average
92688Rancho Santa Margarita 43,32017,871 5 1.0 62% Below average
92886Yorba Linda 49,7048,621 5 0.9 60% Below average
92660Newport Beach 34,89060,414 6 0.9 59% Below average
92602Irvine 28,2619,006 3 0.9 59% Below average
92805Anaheim 74,66126,571 8 0.9 59% Below average
92833Fullerton 51,8429,105 5 0.9 57% Below average
92821Brea 41,62353,249 6 0.9 57% Below average
92612Irvine 33,71447,161 5 0.9 56% Below average
92807Anaheim 37,29625,692 4 0.8 51% Below average
92691Mission Viejo 45,84122,393 4 0.7 45% Far below average
92656Aliso Viejo 52,22924,852 4 0.6 40% Far below average
92620Irvine 61,6317,841 4 0.6 39% Far below average
92802Anaheim 43,13253,713 4 0.6 37% Far below average
92705Santa Ana 48,78152,604 4 0.5 34% Far below average
92618Irvine 66,126130,760 5 0.4 24% Far below average
90622Buena Park —893 0–2 — — Not published
90630Cypress 49,31821,856 0–2 — — Not published
90632La Habra —63 0–2 — — Not published
90633La Habra —88 0–2 — — Not published
90721Los Alamitos —42 0–2 — — Not published
90742Sunset Beach 405403 0–2 — — Not published
90743Surfside 46848 0–2 — — Not published
92603Irvine 18,3872,938 0–2 — — Not published
92605Huntington Beach —47 0–2 — — Not published
92607Laguna Niguel —55 0–2 — — Not published
92609El Toro —56 0–2 — — Not published
92610Foothill Ranch 12,86711,543 0–2 — — Not published
92614Irvine 29,23971,739 0–2 — — Not published
92615Huntington Beach —182 0–2 — — Not published
92616Irvine —64 0–2 — — Not published
92617Irvine 24,0179,220 0–2 — — Not published
92619Irvine —464 0–2 — — Not published
92623Irvine —92 0–2 — — Not published
92624Capistrano Beach 7,2111,069 0–2 — — Not published
92625Corona Del Mar 12,2944,050 0–2 — — Not published
92628Costa Mesa —133 0–2 — — Not published
92637Laguna Woods 17,2892,030 0–2 — — Not published
92652Laguna Beach —154 0–2 — — Not published
92654Laguna Hills —62 0–2 — — Not published
92655Midway City 8,026426 0–2 — — Not published
92657Newport Coast 9,9203,420 0–2 — — Not published
92658Newport Beach —97 0–2 — — Not published
92659Newport Beach —13 0–2 — — Not published
92661Newport Beach 3,079968 0–2 — — Not published
92662Newport Beach 2,294676 0–2 — — Not published
92663Newport Beach 21,36814,263 0–2 — — Not published
92674San Clemente —79 0–2 — — Not published
92676Silverado 2,085168 0–2 — — Not published
92678Trabuco Canyon 66473 0–2 — — Not published
92679Trabuco Canyon 30,8182,512 0–2 — — Not published
92684Westminster —4 0–2 — — Not published
92685Westminster —19 0–2 — — Not published
92690Mission Viejo —41 0–2 — — Not published
92693San Juan Capistrano —168 0–2 — — Not published
92694Ladera Ranch 35,7644,795 0–2 — — Not published
92697Irvine 0236 0–2 — — Not published
92698Aliso Viejo —15 0–2 — — Not published
92702Santa Ana —133 0–2 — — Not published
92711Santa Ana —71 0–2 — — Not published
92728Fountain Valley —119 0–2 — — Not published
92781Tustin —107 0–2 — — Not published
92799Santa Ana —15 0–2 — — Not published
92803Anaheim —654 0–2 — — Not published
92808Anaheim 21,5395,987 0–2 — — Not published
92809Anaheim —13 0–2 — — Not published
92811Atwood —12 0–2 — — Not published
92812Anaheim —35 0–2 — — Not published
92816Anaheim —5 0–2 — — Not published
92817Anaheim —23 0–2 — — Not published
92822Brea —52 0–2 — — Not published
92823Brea 5,8465,290 0–2 — — Not published
92825Anaheim —13 0–2 — — Not published
92834Fullerton —745 0–2 — — Not published
92835Fullerton 26,00512,791 0–2 — — Not published
92836Fullerton —61 0–2 — — Not published
92837Fullerton —134 0–2 — — Not published
92838Fullerton —43 0–2 — — Not published
92842Garden Grove —13 0–2 — — Not published
92845Garden Grove 16,1432,981 0–2 — — Not published
92846Garden Grove —25 0–2 — — Not published
92856Orange —22 0–2 — — Not published
92859Orange —53 0–2 — — Not published
92861Villa Park 5,7481,190 0–2 — — Not published
92863Orange —64 0–2 — — Not published
92866Orange 15,3319,454 0–2 — — Not published
92868Orange 26,38050,123 0–2 — — Not published
92871Placentia —46 0–2 — — Not published
92885Yorba Linda —116 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Irvine

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Irvine retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Irvine retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Irvine retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Orange County and grocery stores

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 445110 — supermarkets & other grocery stores. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. BLS QCEW (quarterly) is newer than ZBP — 2026 Q1 shows 550 establishments county-wide for this industry. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (1.55 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.