County food-access profile · Virginia
Chesterfield County, VA
Chesterfield County sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 47.2%
- low-access pop.
- 6
- food-desert tracts
- 6.5%
- on SNAP
- 378K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
47.2% of Chesterfield County residents live in a low-access area, and 6 of its 71 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 54
- low-access tracts
- 26K
- food-desert residents
- 3.4%
- households, no vehicle
- 7.1%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Chesterfield County carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 47.2% is well above the national share. 54 of the county's 71 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 149,375 people. 6 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 25,904 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Chesterfield County compares nationally
Chesterfield County sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 47.2% low-access share outpaces 92% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #240 most-affected nationwide.
Chesterfield County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 71 census tracts in Chesterfield County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Chesterfield County vs. other Virginia counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Virginia
- Chesterfield
Chesterfield County, VA
47.2 % low-access
- Accomack 2.2
Accomack County, VA
2.2 % low-access
- Albemarle 11.9
Albemarle County, VA
11.9 % low-access
- Alexandria city 0
Alexandria city, VA
0 % low-access
- Alleghany 16.4
Alleghany County, VA
16.4 % low-access
- Amelia 16.5
Amelia County, VA
16.5 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 71 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 316,236 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 54 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 6 |
| Low-Access Population | 149,375 |
| Low-Access Share | 47.2%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 25,904 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 377,869 |
| Median Household Income | $101,931 |
| Poverty Rate | 7.1%well below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 9,081 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 6.5%well below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 3.4%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.2% |
About 6.5% of Chesterfield County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 47.2% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 6.5% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 9,081 households here.
- 3.4% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 6 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Chesterfield County
well above the national share
6 of Chesterfield County's 71 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 8.5% of all its tracts.
A further 48 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 54.
An estimated 149,375 residents, roughly 47.2% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 25,904 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 17 tracts (23.9%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County has 194 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 9 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 74 locations (38% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 74
- 360 express mart, moseley
- 7 eleven 26860b 26860b, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 17657j, chester
- 7-eleven 15891j, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 25873j, richmond
- 7-eleven 33706, midlothian
- 7-eleven inc f 16666a, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven inc f 39383a, richmond
- 7-eleven, inc. 38443, midlothian
- 7-eleven #40026a 40026a, chester
- 7-eleven #41297a, chesterfield
- 7-eleven 11064c, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 15406a, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 16222b 16222b, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 19675b 19675b, chester
- 7-eleven 23724a 23724a, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 25728a 25728a, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 37693a 37693a, midlothian
- 7-eleven 38855a 38855a, south chesterfield
- 7-eleven 40007a 40007a, north chesterfield
- 7-eleven 40010a 40010a, midlothian
- 7-eleven 40016a 40016a, midlothian
- 7-eleven 40024a 40024a, north chesterfield
- aplus 40011h, chesterfield
- aplus 40022h, chester
- aplus 40025h, chesterfield
- bp midlothian, north chesterfield
- beulah bp mart, richmond
- chester chubbys, chester
- chester food mart, chester
- convenience snap, chester
- cross point bp, north chesterfield
- dash in 1654, midlothian
- exxon mobil, chester
- fast & friendly, north chesterfield
- harrowgate market place, chester
- hickory grocery, south chesterfield
- in and out 11936, chester
- m & q market, south chesterfield
- murphy usa 7643, chester
- n&t convenient inc, chester
- orange market, chesterfield
- quick shop, north chesterfield
- raceway 6789, north chesterfield
- raceway chester, chester
- raman market inc, north chesterfield
- refresh, chester
- royal farms 484, north chesterfield
- s&s food mart, north chesterfield
- sheetz 322, richmond
- sheetz 338, richmond
- sheetz 341, richmond
- sheetz 386, chester
- sheetz 766, midlothian
- sheetz 778, midlothian
- sheetz 806, midlothian
- sheetz 835, north chesterfield
- sheetz 868, chesterfield
- tienda la miguelena, llc, north chesterfield
- tienda latina 1, south chesterfield
- turner rd shell, north chesterfield
- wawa 657, midlothian
- wawa 659, richmond
- wawa 670, chester
- wawa 674, midlothian
- wawa 676, chester
- wawa 684, colonial heights
- wawa 692, chester
- wawa 8651, chesterfield
- wawa 8623, midlothian
- wawa 8625, midlothian
- wawa food market 672, richmond
- wawa food market 673, richmond
- willis one stop, north chesterfield
Combination Grocery/Other · 48
- 301 seafood, north chesterfield
- cvs 1549, midlothian
- cvs 3328, richmond
- cvs pharmacy 12, midlothian
- cvs pharmacy 1798, chester
- cvs pharmacy 1979, midlothian
- cvs pharmacy 10992, moseley
- cvs pharmacy 1525, richmond
- cvs pharmacy 1546, richmond
- cvs pharmacy 1547, chesterfield
- cvs pharmacy 1656, chester
- cvs pharmacy 1836, midlothian
- cvs pharmacy 2193, richmond
- cvs pharmacy 2706, richmond
- cvs pharmacy 4242, midlothian
- casa blanca grocery inc, richmond
- dollar general 14028, chester
- dollar tree 0476, midlothian
- dollartree, chester
- dollartree 9333, north chesterfield
- dollar general 13061, richmond
- dollar general 1763, ettrick
- dollar general 30078, midlothian
- dollar general 30482, midlothian
- dollar general 3706, richmond
- dollar general 4148, richmond
- dollar general 6197, chester
- dollar general 7005, richmond
- dollar general store 17081, chesterfield
- dollar tree 1021, richmond
- dollar tree 2732, richmond
- dollar tree 3535, midlothian
- dollar tree 4100, midlothian
- dollar tree 770, chesterfield
- dollar tree 9765, chesterfield
- family dollar 268, richmond
- family dollar 3656, chester
- family dollar 4757, south chesterfield
- family dollar store 6093, richmond
- rose's 543, north chesterfield
- walgreens 4250, richmond
- walgreens 03683, midlothian
- walgreens 03684, richmond
- walgreens 03713, midlothian
- walgreens 06698, midlothian
- walgreens 09226, chester
- walgreens 13126, chesterfield
- walgreens 4351, midlothian
Supermarket · 30
- aldi 80006 80006, north chesterfield
- aldi 80014, chester
- aldi 80058, midlothian
- aldi 80064, midlothian
- aldi 80065, chesterfield
- food lion 1157, ettrick
- food lion 1172, richmond
- food lion 1265, midlothian
- food lion 1320, richmond
- food lion 1370, richmond
- food lion 1602, chesterfield
- food lion 2541, chester
- food lion 2636, midlothian
- food lion 271, richmond
- food lion 299, midlothian
- food lion 477, midlothian
- food lion 478, richmond
- food lion 513, chesterfield
- food lion 620, colonial heights
- food lion 623, richmond
- food lion 711, chester
- food lion 966, chester
- fresh to frozen, north chesterfield
- publix 1592, midlothian
- publix 1643, chesterfield
- publix north carolina, lp 1679, north chesterfield
- publix north carolina, lp 1694, midlothian
- the fresh market 102, midlothian
- the fresh market 216, midlothian
- wegmans midlothian 129, midlothian
Super Store · 22
- bj's wholesale club, inc. 391, midlothian
- costco wholesale 1089, north chesterfield
- kroger 512, midlothian
- kroger 501, north chesterfield
- kroger 505, midlothian
- kroger 514, north chesterfield
- kroger 520, chester
- kroger 523, midlothian
- kroger 524, chester
- lidl 1001, north chesterfield
- lidl 1060, chester
- new grand mart 4, north chesterfield
- sam's club 6354, midlothian
- target 1017, chester
- target store 1041, richmond
- target store 1225, midlothian
- target store 2478, midlothian
- walmart 2808, midlothian
- walmart neighborhood market 7174, n chesterfield
- walmart supercenter 1524, chester
- walmart supercenter 1969, midlothian
- walmart supercenter 4476, chesterfield
Medium Grocery Store · 13
- amanecer latino market, north chesterfield
- bello amanecer latino market, north chesterfield
- danielas latino market, north chesterfield
- goodness and mercy international food mart, north chesterfield
- gran amanecer latino market inc, north chesterfield
- jerusalem market and deli, north chesterfield
- latino market international restaurant, north chesterfield
- mecca supper market, north chesterfield
- nuevo amanecer latino market, north chesterfield
- petra food llc, north chesterfield
- rangoli indo pak grocery, north chesterfield
- tortilleria mixteca # 3, north chesterfield
- united grocery group corp dba united latin market, north chesterfield
Small Grocery Store · 3
- bazar y tienda anabely, llc, north chesterfield
- el compa latina market, north chesterfield
- mi mercadito latino market & restaurant, midlothian
Farmers' Market · 2
- chesterfield county farmers market, chesterfield
- latino farmers market, north chesterfield
Delivery Route · 1
- wyatts variety meats, north chesterfield
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1
- town & country steaks n stuff, north chesterfield
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Virginia
Compare Chesterfield County vs Accomack County → · All Virginia counties →
Food access nationally, Virginia in context
Chesterfield County sits inside Virginia (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Chesterfield County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Chesterfield County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Chesterfield County? ▼
Is Chesterfield County a food desert? ▼
What share of Chesterfield County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.