Signature · 240 SNAP-authorized stores
Lorain County, OH
Distance to a supermarket is a real obstacle for a meaningful share of Lorain County residents. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert here and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).
- 27.9%
- low-access pop.
- 13
- food-desert tracts
- 11.4%
- on SNAP
- 317K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Lorain County, OH
LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-TYPICAL · VEH-OK · DENSITY-MIXED
- LA-ELEVATED 27.9% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +5.8 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 13 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-TYPICAL 11.4% SNAP
- VEH-OK 5.7% no vehicle
- DENSITY-MIXED 18% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Montgomery County (+ 0.9 pts)
The food-access picture
According to the USDA Food Access Research Atlas, Lorain County ranks #1,090 of 3,079 U.S. counties by low-access share and #27 of 88 counties in OH (27.9% low-access; 13 food-desert tracts).
- #1,090
- national by low-access %
- #27
- in OH
- 36
- low-access tracts
- 20K
- food-desert residents
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).
Signature read: 240 SNAP-authorized stores .
How Lorain County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Lorain County's 27.9% low-access share is elevated, higher than 65% of them and ranked #1,093 most-affected nationwide.
Lorain County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
73 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 13 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Lorain County has 62 urban and 11 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Lorain County low-access neighbourhood
Poles + nearest peers in Ohio, not a full county-board reprint
- Warren
Warren 45.7%
45.7 % low-access
- Clinton
Clinton 29.3%
29.3 % low-access
- Guernsey
Guernsey 29%
29 % low-access
- Stark
Stark 28.9%
28.9 % low-access
- Montgomery
Montgomery 28.8%
28.8 % low-access
- Lorain
Lorain 27.9%
27.9 % low-access
- Morrow 2.2
Morrow 2.2%
2.2 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 73 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 301,356 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 36 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 13 |
| Low-Access Population | 83,987 |
| Low-Access Share | 27.9%above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 20,340 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 317,129 |
| Median Household Income | $73,347 |
| Poverty Rate | 12.1%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 14,487 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 11.4%near the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 5.7%below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.7% |
Thick SNAP store book in Lorain County
Lorain County has 240 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 8 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 118 locations (49% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 118
- 7-eleven store no. 19743b, lorain
- 7580 leavitt, amherst
- a & f gas inc, lorain
- amherst citgo inc 2, amherst
- amherst citgo inc. 3, amherst
- avon lake food mart, avon lake
- ayan inc, lorain
- brownhelm country market, vermilion
- brownie's market, sheffield lake
- certified oil 400345, oberlin
- certified oil corp 400220, wellington
- certified oil corp 400243, elyria
- certified oil corp 400243, elyria
- chapman's food mart, lorain
- chet and fran's country store 1, wellington
- circle k 4705312, elyria
- circle k 4705315, elyria
- circle k 4705317, grafton
- circle k 4705573, grafton
- columbia convenient food mart, columbia station
- convenient supermarket, elyria
- cooper deli & grocery, lorain
- country breeze carryout, inc, vermilion
- d & m mart, elyria
- dairy mart 5476, lorain
- da petroleum llc, elyria
- da petroleum llc, elyria
- daily mart, lorain
- dairy mart, lorain
- dales market & deli, elyria
- dm mart, amherst
- dons sunoco, lorain
- double a mart, lorain
- east 28 drive thru, lorain
- east ave convenient, elyria
- east river convenient, jk river inc, elyria
- eaton marathon, grafton
- elyria 325, elyria
- elyria express gas llc, elyria
- elyria food mart, elyria
- friendship 90, elyria
- friendship 93, north ridgeville
- friendship 95, lagrange
- friendship 97, amherst
- friendship 98, vermilion
- ganesh inc, north ridgeville
- getgo 3015, avon
- getgo 3220, amherst
- getgo 3225, elyria
- getgo 3284, avon
- grafton convenient express, grafton
- grafton quick mart, grafton
- h & h market, elyria
- hometown market, lorain
- hanini subs, elyria
- harlem food mart, elyria
- heart of amherst llc, amherst
- henrietta honey & mercantile, sheffield lake
- hira inc, lorain
- joe's kwik marts 268, avon
- joe's kwik marts 277, lorain
- koko mart 1, vermilion
- lake erie stop convenience, lorain
- long avenue market, lorain
- lorain 301, lorain
- lorain convenient food mart, lorain
- lorain smokes & beverage, lorain
- mapco 975, avon
- marathon grafton, grafton
- mario food inc, lorain
- meijer gas station 318, lorain
- mejier gas station 308, avon
- mickey mart 18, wellington
- mickey mart 30, oberlin
- mickey mart 52, vermilion
- mickey mart 67, wellington
- mid city pure inc, lorain
- n & m real estate, lorain
- north ridgeville marathon, north ridgeville
- par mar store 121, south amherst
- pearl road exxon, lorain
- piggy's main street market, south amherst
- pilot travel center 4, avon
- pure gas, lorain
- raceway pure gas, lorain
- rainbow bakery, lorain
- riverside beverage & deli, elyria
- sdm food mart inc, lorain
- shaks corner, lorain
- sheetz 347, n ridgeville
- sheetz 441, sheffield village
- sheetz 744, amherst
- sheetz 793, elyria
- sheetz 845, avon
- shree llc, elyria
- sky fuel inc, elyria
- speedway 3379, elyria
- speedway 3385, north ridgeville
- speedway 3392, north ridgeville
- speedway 3528, avon lake
- speedway 3622, sheffield village
- speedway 3690, sheffield lake
- speedway 3698, elyria
- speedway 7236, avon
- speedway 8556, elyria
- speedway 9975, amherst
- speedy elyria inc, elyria
- sunoco, elyria
- sunoco-hop in, lorain
- the pit stop mini mart, oberlin
- tower shell, lorain
- uni-mart 293, west chester
- uni-mart 296, north ridgeville
- valero colorado, lorain
- vidhi & ayan llc, lorain
- walmart fuel station 5066, avon
- west erie food mart, lorain
- westside marathon, elyria
Combination Grocery/Other · 71
- cvs 2588, avon
- cvs 3353, lorain
- cvs 3376, n ridgeville
- cvs 4078, avon lake
- cvs 4805, oberlin
- cvs pharmacy 3997, elyria
- dollar general 10296, lorain
- dollar general 11285, lagrange
- dollar general 14336, elyria
- dollar general 18419, amherst
- dollar general 530, lorain
- dollar general 7012, wellington
- dollar general 7388, lorain
- dollar general 7807, lorain
- dollar general 8454, sheffield village
- dollar general 9516, elyria
- dollar general 9634, elyria
- dollar tree 3102, elyria
- dollartree 10292, wellington
- dollartree 10791, amherst
- dollartree 8734, lorain
- dollartree 9648, grafton
- discount drug mart 1, elyria
- discount drug mart 19, lorain
- discount drug mart 2, amherst
- discount drug mart 23, oberlin
- discount drug mart 27, wellington
- discount drug mart 4, avon lake
- discount drug mart 62, avon
- discount drug mart 71, sheffield village
- discount drug mart 78, elyria
- discount drug mart 94, north ridgeville
- dollar general 12868, lorain
- dollar general 15058, amherst
- dollar general 15252, sheffield village
- dollar general 16243, lorain
- dollar general 16855, amherst
- dollar general 20525, elyria
- dollar general 21801, grafton
- dollar general 22311, lorain
- dollar general 22400, north ridgeville
- dollar general 22962, elyria
- dollar general 4686, amherst
- dollar general 548, sheffield lake
- dollar general 9791, oberlin
- dollar general store 12759, lorain
- dollar general store 17014, lorain
- dollar general store 17240, grafton
- dollar tree 1431, elyria
- dollar tree 2299, sheffield village
- dollar tree 3214, north ridgeville
- dollar tree 3488, amherst
- dollar tree 4166, oberlin
- dollar tree 5911, lorain
- dollar tree 6249, elyria
- dollar tree 6723, sheffield lake
- dollar tree 7740, lorain
- family dollar 0896, lorain
- family dollar 11143, elyria
- family dollar 1716, lorain
- family dollar 4806, lorain
- family dollar 5155, elyria
- family dollar 6358, elyria
- family dollar 6401, lorain
- steve polansky mkt inc, amherst
- vermillion farm market, vermilion
- walgreens #6574 06574, lorain
- walgreens 5138, elyria
- walgreens 06588, avon lake
- walgreens 09372, north ridgeville
- walgreens 10222, lorain
Super Store · 23
- apples (lorain), lorain
- apples (sheffield ctr), lorain
- apples(elyria), elyria
- apples, sheffield lake
- bj's wholesale club 115, avon
- costco wholesale 0343, avon
- fligners supermarket, lorain
- giant eagle 0199, n ridgeville
- giant eagle 0220, amherst
- giant eagle 0231, sheffield village
- giant eagle 1284, avon lake
- giant eagle 6375, elyria
- meijer 318, lorain
- meijer store 308, avon
- sam's club 6314, sheffield village
- target store 1215, elyria
- target store 1325, avon
- target store 2351, amherst
- village market, wellington
- walmart 4255, elyria
- walmart 5066, avon
- walmart supercenter 1839, lorain
- walmart supercenter 5309, oberlin
Supermarket · 21
- aldi 63005 63005, sheffield village
- aldi 63052, north ridgeville
- aldi 63059 63059, elyria
- aldi 63082, oberlin
- aldi 67097 67097, amherst
- alberts fresh market, grafton
- aldi 45, avon
- apple's market (wellington), wellington
- domec foods llc, lagrange
- gordon food service store mp094, elyria
- heinen's inc 18, avon
- lorain grocery outlet 811, lorain
- marc's 26, lorain
- marc's 54, n ridgeville
- marc's 55, elyria
- marc's 69av, avon
- oberlin iga, oberlin
- save a lot 21743, lorain
- save a lot 21745, elyria
- save a lot 21747, lorain
- schilds iga, grafton
Small Grocery Store · 3
- convenient food mart, elyria
- south side market, lorain
- tienda la san luis inc, lorain
Medium Grocery Store · 2
- convenient fd mart 744, n ridgeville
- vollick's bi-rite, sheffield lake
Food Buying Co-op · 1
- new agrarian center, oberlin
Large Grocery Store · 1
- key foods, lorain
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Ohio
One of 87 counties in Ohio, 6 are shown here.
Compare Lorain County vs Adams County → · All Ohio counties →
Nationwide peers for Lorain County's low-access or SNAP share
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Lorain County, both outside Ohio so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside OH (27.9% here).
- Cherokee County, OK · 27.9% low-access
- Cherokee County, OK · 27.9% low-access
- Comanche County, OK · 27.9% low-access
- Comanche County, OK · 27.9% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside OH (11.4% here).
- Lincoln County, NC · 11.4% SNAP
- Lincoln County, NC · 11.4% SNAP
- Johnston County, NC · 11.4% SNAP
- Johnston County, NC · 11.4% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Food access nationally, Ohio in context
Lorain County sits inside Ohio (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Lorain County, OH are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 39093. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
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.