Signature · 5 LILA tracts (33.3% of tracts)
Worcester County, MD
Worcester County's signature pressure is desert tracts: 5 LILA tracts (33.3% of the book) alongside 30.7% low-access.
- 30.7%
- low-access pop.
- 5
- food-desert tracts
- 9.9%
- on SNAP
- 54K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Worcester County, MD
LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-POCKET · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · DENSITY-DENSE
- LA-ELEVATED 30.7% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +8.6 pts vs US
- LILA-POCKET 5 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-LIGHT 9.9% SNAP
- VEH-OK 5.9% no vehicle
- DENSITY-DENSE 33% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Allegany County ( -0.3 pts)
Upper-band low-access
Worcester County sits in the upper national band (30.7%, #896 of 3,079) with 5 LILA tracts.
- #896
- national by low-access %
- #4
- in MD
- 8
- low-access tracts
- 3K
- food-desert residents
Upper-band counties often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts. Low access = >1 mile urban / >10 miles rural.
Signature read: 5 LILA tracts (33.3% of tracts) .
How Worcester County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Worcester County's 30.7% low-access share is elevated, higher than 71% of them and ranked #896 most-affected nationwide.
Worcester County's elevated USDA tier split
15 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 5 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Worcester County has 8 urban and 7 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.
Worcester County vs nearby high low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Maryland, not a full county-board reprint
- Calvert
Calvert 38.6%
38.6 % low-access
- Worcester
Worcester 30.7%
30.7 % low-access
- Allegany
Allegany 30.4%
30.4 % low-access
- Wicomico
Wicomico 29.7%
29.7 % low-access
- Carroll
Carroll 29.5%
29.5 % low-access
- Washington
Washington 28.7%
28.7 % low-access
- Kent 1.7
Kent 1.7%
1.7 % low-access
FARA 2019 · elevated low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 15 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 51,454 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 8 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 5 |
| Low-Access Population | 15,776 |
| Low-Access Share | 30.7%above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 3,103 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 53,700 |
| Median Household Income | $81,745 |
| Poverty Rate | 9.9%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 2,385 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 9.9%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 5.9%below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.4% |
Thick SNAP store book in Worcester County
Worcester County has 54 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 8 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 21 locations (39% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 21
- 7-eleven #24093c 24093c, ocean city
- 7-eleven 19354c, ocean city
- 7-eleven 23366b, ocean city
- 7-eleven 23819c, ocean city
- 7-eleven ine 19083a 19083a, ocean city
- 7-eleven#41268b 41268b, ocean city
- 7eleven 19283, berlin
- assawoman ale shoppe, ocean city
- duck in, pocomoke city
- mitchells market, pocomoke city
- newark station, newark
- oc dollar store, ocean city
- pocomoke goose creek 1, pocomoke city
- royal farms 107, ocean city
- royal farms 156, berlin
- royal farms 178, berlin
- royal farms 36, ocean city
- uncle willie's, berlin
- wawa 556, ocean city
- wawa 566, ocean city
- your store market, berlin
Combination Grocery/Other · 18
- best price supermarket, pocomoke city
- cvs pharmacy 1458, ocean city
- cvs pharmacy 4371, west ocean city
- cvs pharmacy 5909, ocean city
- chesapeake bay dairy, berlin
- dollar general 489, berlin
- dollar general 0372, pocomoke city
- dollar general 1636, snow hill
- dollar general 30293, snow hill
- dollar general store 16880, berlin
- dollar tree 3572, ocean city
- dollar tree 4411, ocean city
- dollar tree 7531, berlin
- dollar tree 771, pocomoke city
- family dollar store 2342, pocomoke city
- snow hill food rite, snow hill
- twin oak farms, stockton
- walgreens 11951, berlin
Supermarket · 7
- acme 293, ocean city
- aldi 71184, berlin
- food lion 246, ocean city
- food lion 2614, berlin
- food lion 397, ocean city
- food lion 658, berlin
- sysco eastern maryland llc 10, pocomoke city
Large Grocery Store · 2
- montego bay market, ocean city
- rick's market, ocean city
Medium Grocery Store · 2
- minit market, ocean city
- ocean city organics, ocean city
Super Store · 2
- walmart supercenter 2514, pocomoke city
- walmart supercenter 2560, berlin
Farmers' Market · 1
- cross farms, berlin
Small Grocery Store · 1
- chesapeake bay dairy, pocomoke city
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Maryland
One of 23 counties in Maryland, 6 are shown here.
Compare Worcester County vs Allegany County → · All Maryland counties →
Counties near Worcester County's elevated low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Worcester County, both outside Maryland so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside MD (30.7% here).
- McLean County, IL · 30.7% low-access
- McLean County, IL · 30.7% low-access
- Buffalo County, NE · 30.7% low-access
- Buffalo County, NE · 30.7% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside MD (9.9% here).
- Clay County, MN · 9.9% SNAP
- Clay County, MN · 9.9% SNAP
- Sumner County, KS · 9.9% SNAP
- Sumner County, KS · 9.9% 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.
Worcester County inside a higher low-access state context
Worcester County sits inside Maryland (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 Worcester County, MD are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 24047. 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.