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Schuylkill County, PA — 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. 46 ZIP codes analyzed.

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

Measured density: Range spans bands — 0.68× the U.S. rate (between 0.68× and 4.03× 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. 42 ZIP cells in this county are withheld. 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

Range spans the U.S. rate   Schuylkill County grocery stores — 68–403% of the U.S. rate

17 grocery stores are counted in Schuylkill County — 1.1 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 68% of the U.S. rate of 1.6.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has fallen 7% between 2015 and 2023 (15 → 14). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 17976 (Shenandoah), 17901 (Pottsville), 18252 (Tamaqua) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 18252 (Tamaqua), 17901 (Pottsville), 17976 (Shenandoah).

BLS QCEW puts the latest county-wide count (2026 Q1) at 31 establishments, the freshest available signal.

Measured density: Schuylkill County sits at 68% of the U.S. rate for grocery stores. 42 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 68% and 403% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 17976 and 17901; the lowest measured density is in 18252 and 17901.

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
17–101
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (42 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
1.1
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
1.6
per 10,000 present
County index
0.68×
vs. U.S.
Latest quarter (QCEW)
31
2026 Q1 — county total
Residents
140,336
46 ZIPs with data
Workers
41,570
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
144,523
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+1.1%
+1,564 people
Net migration 2024
+1,278
international +305, domestic +973
Jobs located here
50,258
LODES 2022, −0.1% since 2019

Schuylkill County had an estimated 144,523 residents on July 1, 2024 — 1.1% more than in 2020 (+1,564). In the latest year it gained 591 people: births minus deaths −670, international migration +305, domestic migration +973. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

50,258 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (−0.1% since 2019), and 64,709 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

No ZIP had a statistically significant increase.

ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
17976 Shenandoah
−11.0%
17948 Mahanoy City
−10.5%

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 7% since 2015

Number of grocery stores in Schuylkill 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.

15
2015
15
2018
14
2020
14
2021
16
2022
14
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
17976 Shenandoah
398%
17901 Pottsville
156%
18252 Tamaqua
150%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
18252 Tamaqua
150%
17901 Pottsville
156%
17976 Shenandoah
398%
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.

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
17976Shenandoah 5,9161,085 4 6.2 398% Very high density
17954Minersville 4,6231,287 3 5.7 366% Very high density
17901Pottsville 22,37112,965 7 2.4 156% High density
18252Tamaqua 11,0243,753 3 2.3 150% Above average
17921Ashland 6,9311,197 0–2 — — Not published
17922Auburn 4,803494 0–2 — — Not published
17925Brockton 30511 0–2 — — Not published
17929Cressona 1,4321,548 0–2 — — Not published
17930Cumbola 25817 0–2 — — Not published
17931Frackville 8,8991,542 0–2 — — Not published
17933Friedensburg 123141 0–2 — — Not published
17934Gilberton 41799 0–2 — — Not published
17935Girardville 1,37193 0–2 — — Not published
17936Gordon 959158 0–2 — — Not published
17938Hegins 2,479811 0–2 — — Not published
17941Klingerstown 733408 0–2 — — Not published
17943Lavelle 4223 0–2 — — Not published
17944Llewellyn 2656 0–2 — — Not published
17946Lost Creek 1855 0–2 — — Not published
17948Mahanoy City 4,188578 0–2 — — Not published
17951Mar Lin 281144 0–2 — — Not published
17952Mary D 1726 0–2 — — Not published
17953Middleport 42615 0–2 — — Not published
17959New Philadelphia 1,445113 0–2 — — Not published
17960New Ringgold 4,264457 0–2 — — Not published
17961Orwigsburg 6,7402,598 0–2 — — Not published
17963Pine Grove 9,3232,286 0–2 — — Not published
17964Pitman 95280 0–2 — — Not published
17965Port Carbon 1,92795 0–2 — — Not published
17967Ringtown 2,202490 0–2 — — Not published
17968Sacramento 32190 0–2 — — Not published
17970Saint Clair 3,1711,268 0–2 — — Not published
17972Schuylkill Haven 11,8264,012 0–2 — — Not published
17979Summit Station 1302 0–2 — — Not published
17980Tower City 3,342254 0–2 — — Not published
17981Tremont 2,4681,062 0–2 — — Not published
17983Valley View 1,541256 0–2 — — Not published
17985Zion Grove 1,237103 0–2 — — Not published
18211Andreas 1,207335 0–2 — — Not published
18214Barnesville 2,522246 0–2 — — Not published
18218Coaldale 2,514581 0–2 — — Not published
18220Delano 170123 0–2 — — Not published
18237Mcadoo 3,712602 0–2 — — Not published
18241Nuremberg 24925 0–2 — — Not published
18248Sheppton 59960 0–2 — — Not published
19549Port Clinton 27146 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Pottsville

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 Pottsville retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Pottsville retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Pottsville 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 Schuylkill 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 31 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.