Home / Convenience stores / Massachusetts / Middlesex County, MA

Middlesex County, MA — Convenience stores Saturation

Name: Convenience stores density by ZIP code in Middlesex County, MA
Creator: BizGapMap

How many convenience 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. 98 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Convenience stores · Corner stores · Small-format food & fuel marts. Counted together because official statistics use one 445120 code.

Measured density: High density — 1.67× the U.S. rate (between 1.67× and 2.14× 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. 61 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 46 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

High density Middlesex County convenience stores — 167–214% of the U.S. rate

326 convenience stores are counted in Middlesex County — 1.5 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 167% of the U.S. rate of 0.9.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 11% between 2015 and 2023 (281 → 311). 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 02149 (Everett), 02145 (Somerville), 02143 (Somerville) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 02138 (Cambridge), 01701 (Framingham), 02176 (Melrose).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 367 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: Middlesex County sits at 167% of the U.S. rate for convenience stores. 46 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 167% and 214% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 02149 and 02145; the lowest measured density is in 02138 and 01701.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing convenience 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.

Convenience stores

326–448

published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (61 cells) (2023)

Per 10,000 present

1.5

residents + daytime workers

U.S. average

0.9

per 10,000 present

County index

1.67×

vs. U.S.

Latest year (CBP)

367

2023 — $27M annual payroll

Residents

1,653,842

83 ZIPs with data

Workers

958,530

jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population

1,668,956

Census PEP, July 1 2024

Change since 2020

+2.5%

+41,378 people

Net migration 2024

+19,403

international +29,046, domestic −9,643

Jobs located here

944,369

LODES 2022, −0.8% since 2019

Middlesex County had an estimated 1,668,956 residents on July 1, 2024 — 2.5% more than in 2020 (+41,378). In the latest year it gained 24,024 people: births minus deaths +4,525, international migration +29,046, domestic migration −9,643. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

944,369 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (−0.8% since 2019), and 822,882 employed residents lived there (−2.2% 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

01432 Ayer

+10.7%

01748 Hopkinton

+10.0%

02149 Everett

+8.5%

ZIP losing residents

2015–19 → 2020–24

Change

01464 Shirley

−8.6%

01821 Billerica

−8.1%

01803 Burlington

−5.0%

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 convenience stores only combined with vending machine operators, so a convenience-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 convenience 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 — up 11% since 2015

Number of convenience stores in Middlesex 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.

281

2015

313

2018

309

2020

316

2021

316

2022

311

2023

Highest measured density

ZIP

vs. U.S. average

Index

02149 Everett

630%

02145 Somerville

498%

02143 Somerville

420%

01850 Lowell

414%

02461 Newton Highlands

390%

02148 Malden

349%

02453 Waltham

332%

02144 Somerville

311%

01862 North Billerica

309%

01851 Lowell

300%

01852 Lowell

286%

01702 Framingham

284%

02472 Watertown

272%

02155 Medford

270%

01754 Maynard

268%

Lowest measured density

ZIP

vs. U.S. average

Index

02138 Cambridge

53%

01701 Framingham

117%

02176 Melrose

136%

01742 Concord

136%

01821 Billerica

145%

01887 Wilmington

149%

01876 Tewksbury

171%

02139 Cambridge

175%

01749 Hudson

178%

01824 Chelmsford

179%

01752 Marlborough

190%

01801 Woburn

200%

02180 Stoneham

201%

02478 Belmont

212%

02474 Arlington

214%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few convenience 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.

ZIP	Neighborhood	Type	Residents	Workers	Convenience stores	Index
02451	Waltham	Employment hub	17,393	59,760	11	255%
01434	Devens	Employment hub	1,564	4,918	0–2	—
02142	Cambridge	Employment hub	4,737	31,327	0–2	—
02462	Newton Lower Falls	Employment hub	1,470	5,891	0–2	—

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

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

ZIP	Neighborhood	Residents	Workers	Convenience stores	Per 10k	Index	Status
02149	Everett	50,045	14,514	33	5.8	630%	Very high density
02145	Somerville	27,495	6,587	14	4.5	498%	Very high density
02143	Somerville	25,513	11,442	12	3.8	420%	Very high density
01850	Lowell	17,740	1,500	7	3.8	414%	Very high density
02461	Newton Highlands	6,975	2,905	3	3.6	390%	Very high density
02148	Malden	65,906	12,471	23	3.2	349%	Very high density
02453	Waltham	31,591	22,576	13	3.0	332%	Very high density
02144	Somerville	25,448	5,471	8	2.8	311%	Very high density
01862	North Billerica	12,129	11,110	5	2.8	309%	Very high density
01851	Lowell	33,403	13,356	11	2.7	300%	Very high density
01852	Lowell	37,144	9,846	11	2.6	286%	Very high density
01702	Framingham	39,789	12,859	12	2.6	284%	Very high density
02472	Watertown	35,620	17,292	11	2.5	272%	Very high density
02155	Medford	61,730	22,673	18	2.5	270%	Very high density
01754	Maynard	10,712	3,080	3	2.4	268%	Very high density
01854	Lowell	30,081	7,284	8	2.4	260%	Very high density
01721	Ashland	18,873	4,438	5	2.4	259%	Very high density
02140	Cambridge	21,204	9,129	6	2.3	255%	Very high density
02451	Waltham	17,393	59,760	11	2.3	255%	Very high density
01880	Wakefield	27,793	14,674	8	2.3	249%	High density
01826	Dracut	32,629	5,452	8	2.3	248%	High density
01864	North Reading	15,765	6,881	4	2.1	228%	High density
02474	Arlington	28,642	3,974	6	2.0	214%	High density
02478	Belmont	27,175	7,481	6	1.9	212%	High density
02180	Stoneham	23,355	7,742	5	1.8	201%	High density
01801	Woburn	41,939	47,661	12	1.8	200%	High density
01752	Marlborough	41,647	43,679	11	1.7	190%	High density
01824	Chelmsford	26,650	20,094	6	1.6	179%	High density
01749	Hudson	20,077	9,145	4	1.6	178%	High density
02139	Cambridge	40,033	57,246	11	1.6	175%	High density
01876	Tewksbury	31,004	14,955	6	1.6	171%	High density
01887	Wilmington	23,336	26,779	5	1.4	149%	Above average
01821	Billerica	30,143	15,332	5	1.3	145%	Above average
01742	Concord	18,448	11,358	3	1.2	136%	Above average
02176	Melrose	29,650	5,241	4	1.2	136%	Above average
01701	Framingham	32,618	28,173	5	1.1	117%	Above average
02138	Cambridge	38,509	46,771	3	0.5	53%	Below average
01431	Ashby	3,211	224	0–2	—	—	Not published
01432	Ayer	8,521	4,132	0–2	—	—	Not published
01434	Devens	1,564	4,918	0–2	—	—	Not published
01450	Groton	11,356	1,923	0–2	—	—	Not published
01460	Littleton	10,280	6,243	0–2	—	—	Not published
01463	Pepperell	11,697	1,887	0–2	—	—	Not published
01464	Shirley	6,976	1,571	0–2	—	—	Not published
01469	Townsend	6,820	1,363	0–2	—	—	Not published
01471	Groton	—	360	0–2	—	—	Not published
01472	West Groton	—	147	0–2	—	—	Not published
01474	West Townsend	2,280	106	0–2	—	—	Not published
01703	Framingham	—	27	0–2	—	—	Not published
01704	Framingham	—	12	0–2	—	—	Not published
01718	Acton	404	7	0–2	—	—	Not published
01719	Boxborough	5,496	3,309	0–2	—	—	Not published
01720	Acton	23,526	10,629	0–2	—	—	Not published
01730	Bedford	14,707	23,516	0–2	—	—	Not published
01731	Hanscom Afb	2,110	168	0–2	—	—	Not published
01741	Carlisle	5,239	556	0–2	—	—	Not published
01746	Holliston	15,094	5,337	0–2	—	—	Not published
01748	Hopkinton	19,358	13,167	0–2	—	—	Not published
01760	Natick	36,782	21,689	0–2	—	—	Not published
01770	Sherborn	4,427	471	0–2	—	—	Not published
01773	Lincoln	4,891	1,992	0–2	—	—	Not published
01775	Stow	7,165	957	0–2	—	—	Not published
01776	Sudbury	19,270	5,788	0–2	—	—	Not published
01778	Wayland	14,033	3,272	0–2	—	—	Not published
01803	Burlington	26,274	40,471	0–2	—	—	Not published
01805	Burlington	—	4,971	0–2	—	—	Not published
01827	Dunstable	3,408	224	0–2	—	—	Not published
01853	Lowell	—	406	0–2	—	—	Not published
01863	North Chelmsford	9,796	2,960	0–2	—	—	Not published
01865	Nutting Lake	—	5	0–2	—	—	Not published
01866	Pinehurst	—	16	0–2	—	—	Not published
01867	Reading	25,612	6,756	0–2	—	—	Not published
01879	Tyngsboro	12,550	3,772	0–2	—	—	Not published
01886	Westford	24,690	9,553	0–2	—	—	Not published
01888	Woburn	—	534	0–2	—	—	Not published
01890	Winchester	23,406	6,381	0–2	—	—	Not published
02141	Cambridge	14,517	15,363	0–2	—	—	Not published
02142	Cambridge	4,737	31,327	0–2	—	—	Not published
02153	Medford	—	168	0–2	—	—	Not published
02238	Cambridge	—	2,153	0–2	—	—	Not published
02420	Lexington	16,215	4,413	0–2	—	—	Not published
02421	Lexington	18,080	20,781	0–2	—	—	Not published
02452	Waltham	15,808	8,200	0–2	—	—	Not published
02454	Waltham	—	592	0–2	—	—	Not published
02455	North Waltham	—	34	0–2	—	—	Not published
02458	Newton	13,050	8,239	0–2	—	—	Not published
02459	Newton Center	18,449	12,295	0–2	—	—	Not published
02460	Newtonville	10,099	2,429	0–2	—	—	Not published
02462	Newton Lower Falls	1,470	5,891	0–2	—	—	Not published
02464	Newton Upper Falls	3,833	3,819	0–2	—	—	Not published
02465	West Newton	11,697	2,691	0–2	—	—	Not published
02466	Auburndale	8,679	16,302	0–2	—	—	Not published
02467	Chestnut Hill	23,001	14,964	0–2	—	—	Not published
02468	Waban	5,773	345	0–2	—	—	Not published
02471	Watertown	—	772	0–2	—	—	Not published
02475	Arlington Heights	—	49	0–2	—	—	Not published
02476	Arlington	17,708	3,887	0–2	—	—	Not published
02493	Weston	11,579	3,311	0–2	—	—	Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Waltham

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 Waltham retail space →

Crexi

Free listings + market data

Browse Waltham retail space →

CityFeet

Retail space for lease

Browse Waltham 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 Middlesex County and convenience stores

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Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 445120 — convenience retailers. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 367 establishments and $27M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. 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 (0.91 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 →

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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.