County food-access profile · Pennsylvania
Fayette County, PA
Fayette County's food-access picture is close to the national norm, with pockets that qualify as low-access. This profile breaks down who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 16.8%
- low-access pop.
- 7
- food-desert tracts
- 23.5%
- on SNAP
- 126K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
16.8% of Fayette County residents live in a low-access area, and 7 of its 36 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 10
- low-access tracts
- 9K
- food-desert residents
- 9.0%
- households, no vehicle
- 16.8%
- 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).
Fayette County's low-access share sits near the national share, at 16.8% per the USDA Atlas. 10 of the county's 36 census tracts are flagged low-access, covering roughly 22,987 residents who live far from a supermarket. 7 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 8,675 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 Fayette County compares nationally
Fayette County lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 16.8% low-access share that beats 37% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #1,967).
Fayette County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 36 census tracts in Fayette County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Fayette County vs. other Pennsylvania counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Pennsylvania
- Fayette
Fayette County, PA
16.8 % low-access
- Adams
Adams County, PA
15.9 % low-access
- Allegheny
Allegheny County, PA
26.4 % low-access
- Armstrong 5.2
Armstrong County, PA
5.2 % low-access
- Beaver
Beaver County, PA
32.5 % low-access
- Bedford
Bedford County, PA
22.7 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 36 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 136,606 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 10 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 7 |
| Low-Access Population | 22,987 |
| Low-Access Share | 16.8%below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 8,675 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 125,997 |
| Median Household Income | $58,236 |
| Poverty Rate | 16.8%above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 12,964 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 23.5%well above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 9.0%near the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 3.6% |
About 23.5% of Fayette County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 16.8% of residents are low-access, near the national share for U.S. counties.
- 23.5% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 12,964 households here.
- 9.0% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 7 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 Fayette County
near the national share
7 of Fayette County's 36 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 19.4% of all its tracts.
A further 3 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 10.
An estimated 22,987 residents, roughly 16.8% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 8,675 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 26 tracts (72.2%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Fayette County
Fayette County has 125 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 7 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 59 locations (47% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 59
- a-plus mini mkt, uniontown
- akshar gas & yough lake sports shop, markleysburg
- bfs foods 34, uniontown
- bfs foods 48, belle vernon
- bfs foods 49, belle vernon
- bfs foods 83, connellsville
- big five food and beer, uniontown
- byers main street market, uniontown
- byers market, uniontown
- cio store 1, uniontown
- cio store 2, uniontown
- cio store 3, german township
- cio store 5, vanderbilt
- cio store 6, redstone township
- cio store 7, north union township
- cio store 8, masontown
- cio store 9, fairchance
- connellsville fuel & go, connellsville
- dreamland convenience, uniontown
- farmington sunoco 84, farmington
- getgo 3699, uniontown
- honey bear 203, connellsville
- honey bear 225, smithfield
- honey bear 226, connellsville
- hopwood fuel & go, uniontown
- j g svc stations inc browns 40, brownsville
- j g svc stations inc rt 857 857, smithfield
- jackson's 42, new salem
- jb's market, dunbar
- jg svc stations inc rt 21 sv 21, masontown
- jg's connellsville sunoco 119, connellsville
- jg's star junction gulf 52, star junction
- koirala, perryopolis
- krupa gas corp, brownsville
- mahadev enterprise llc, uniontown
- meet minimart inc., uniontown
- mountain market and meats, chalk hill
- nickman's drugs inc, lemont furnace
- nickman s drug 119, connellsville
- one stop to go, connellsville
- rt 51 exxon 51, uniontown
- sunoco a-plus, brownsville
- sheetz 124, connellsville
- sheetz 183, connellsville
- sheetz 278, uniontown
- sheetz 377, belle vernon
- sheetz 487, uniontown
- sheetz 670, brownsville
- sheetz 729, lemont furnace
- speedway 2908, perryopolis
- speedway 2918, lemont furnace
- speedway 2925, uniontown
- speedy meedy's inc., dunbar
- speedy meedy's inc., mount pleasant
- speedy meedy's inc., normalville
- standard gas, republic
- sycamore 43, uniontown
- uniontown exxon, uniontown
- uniontown- mart & smoke shop, uniontown
Combination Grocery/Other · 43
- cvs pharmacy 4256, uniontown
- cvs pharmacy 4077, belle vernon
- cvs pharmacy 5749, masontown
- dollar general 13619, uniontown
- dollar general 14032, smithfield
- dollar general 14216, lemont furnace
- dollar general 18469, uniontown
- dollar general 2133, connellsville
- dollar general 4323, masontown
- dollar general 7065, uniontown
- dollar general 7139, grindstone
- dollartree 9658, uniontown
- dollar general 10207, perryopolis
- dollar general 11347, normalville
- dollar general 12079, republic
- dollar general 15407, farmington
- dollar general 17391, uniontown
- dollar general 20520, uniontown
- dollar general 20568, mcclellandtown
- dollar general 20948, uniontown
- dollar general 2096, uniontown
- dollar general 21035, connellsville
- dollar general 21439, uniontown
- dollar general 21538, dunbar
- dollar general 21652, connellsville
- dollar general 21823, point marion
- dollar general 23180, belle vernon
- dollar general 23234, rostraver township
- dollar general 24980, smithfield
- dollar general 7416, masontown
- dollar tree 136, uniontown
- dollar tree 2347, connellsville
- dollar tree 274, uniontown
- dollar tree 547, belle vernon
- dollar tree 7136, connellsville
- dollar tree 7788, grindstone
- family dollar 10732, markleysburg
- family dollar 11406, smithfield
- family dollar store 2193, uniontown
- family dollar store 3074, connellsville
- family dollar store 6988, uniontown
- family dollar store 7283, point marion
- walgreens 09804, uniontown
Super Store · 11
- connellsville cash saver, connellsville
- fairchance shop n save, fairchance
- giant eagle uniontown 98, uniontown
- rostraver twp. shop n save, belle vernon
- target stores 2184, uniontown
- walnut hills save-a-lot 24496, uniontown
- walnut hills shop n save, uniontown
- walmart 4501, west brownsville
- walmart supercenter 2019, uniontown
- walmart supercenter 2420, belle vernon
- walmart supercenter 5379, connellsville
Supermarket · 7
- aldi 69008, uniontown
- grocery outlet of uniontown 760, uniontown
- mlk foods inc, masontown
- martins food market 6290, connellsville
- melcroft market, melcroft
- perryopolis save-a-lot, perryopolis
- uniontown save-a-lot 23671, uniontown
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 2
- haines farming and meat processing, llc, gibbon glade
- murph's meat market & packing, vanderbilt
Medium Grocery Store · 2
- big barn produce 426, perryopolis
- mill street merchants llc, uniontown
Fruits/Veg Specialty · 1
- duda's farm, inc. 7242467601, brownsville
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Pennsylvania
Compare Fayette County vs Adams County → · All Pennsylvania counties →
Food access nationally, Pennsylvania in context
Fayette County sits inside Pennsylvania (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 Fayette County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Fayette County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Fayette County? ▼
Is Fayette County a food desert? ▼
What share of Fayette 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.