The Largest Pharmacies in the US – Location Analysis

Pharmacies will play an important role in administering seasonal flu shots across the US this year. Due to the pandemic, the healthcare systems are overwhelmed by COVID patients, people are turning to retail pharmacies in huge numbers to get themselves vaccinated against the flu. Some of the largest pharmacies across the US have evolved from dispensing medications to providing a variety of health services such as – immunizations, clinics, specialty pharmacies, prescription pick up, drive-thru pharmacy, and more. 

We took a look at the largest pharmacies in the US – CVS, Walgreens, Health Mart, Rite Aid, Good Neighbor, Safeway, The Medicine Shoppe, and Select Medical. 

How many Pharmacies are there in the US

We analyzed 29,881 pharmacy stores across 8 pharmacy chains in the US. 

CVS is the largest pharmacy chain in the US with 9,968 locations in all 50 states. Followed by Walgreens (9,024) and Health Mart (5,002).

Pharmacies with Most Locations per State

Walgreens has the highest number of pharmacies in 21 states. The majority of Walgreens pharmacies are in Central United States with the rest scattered all around the country.

Walgreens is followed closely by, CVS which has the highest number of pharmacies in 20 states. Most of these states are lined along the East and West coasts.

Missouri, is the only state with an equal number of CVS and Walgreens stores. Health Mart dominates in 6 states. While Rite Aid and Safeway reign in 1 state each.

CVS Pharmacy Locations

The largest pharmacy chain in the US is CVS Pharmacy with 9,968 stores. California (1,180), Florida (876), and Texas (848) are the states with the most number of CVS pharmacies. CVS is an approved WIC retailer. There are 1,748 CVS stores that are eligible for WIC purchases.

Due to the pandemic, people are relying heavily on prescription pick up and drive-thru service in order to avoid coming in close contact with people. Close to 30% of stores under CVS pharmacy provide pick-up service. More than 99% of CVS pharmacies sell prescription medications and 11% of CVS pharmacies have a MinuteClinic. 

Walgreens Pharmacy Locations 

Walgreens is the second-largest pharmacy chain in the US with 9,024 stores. Florida (821) is the state with the most number of Walgreens pharmacy stores, followed by Texas (705) and California (587). 

Close to 80% of Walgreens provide immunizations. 2% of Walgreens have a LabCorp laboratory. 

Health Mart Pharmacy Locations

There are 5,002 Health Mart pharmacies in the US. The states with the most number of Health Mart pharmacies are California (500), Texas (434), and Florida (364). 

RiteAid Pharmacy Locations

RiteAid has 2,450 stores in 18 states in the US and are concentrated in the West Coast and North Eastern US. California (535) is the state with the most number of pharmacies, followed by Pennsylvania (518) and New York (318). 

12% of RiteAid pharmacies provide COVID testing.

All RiteAid pharmacies provide immunization. Around 47% of RiteAid pharmacies provide prescription home delivery. Rite Aid has been closing down their pharmacies fast, from having 3,176 pharmacies same time last year to 2,450 this year.

Good Neighbor Pharmacy Locations

There are 2,381 Good Neighbor locations in the US. California (244), Texas (228), and Georgia (134) are the states with the most number of Good Neighbor pharmacies.

Safeway Pharmacy Locations

Safeway has 733 pharmacies in 17 states in the US. The states with the most number of Safeway pharmacies are California (156), Washington (151), and Colorado (96). 

More than 99% of Safeway pharmacies are specialty pharmacies and provide vaccinations.

The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy Locations

There are 369 Medicine Shoppe pharmacies in the US. The states with the most number of Medicine Shoppe pharmacies are Pennsylvania (56), California (33), and Missouri (26). 

Select Medical Pharmacy Locations

There are 99 Select Medical locations in 28 states in the US. Ohio (15), Florida (12), Pennsylvania (10), and Michigan (10) are the states with the most number of Select Medical pharmacies.

States with Most Pharmacies in the US

California has the most number of pharmacies with 3.2K locations, followed by Texas (2.24K) and Florida (2.22K).

Drive-Thru Available at Pharmacies

As a result of the ongoing pandemic, customers are avoiding going to a pharmacy or any public places. This has led to an increase in the number of people opting for curbside pickup and drive-thru when it comes to essential services.

82% of Walgreens locations have a drive-thru facility. Followed by, CVS Pharmacy (58%) and Rite Aid (54%). Only 2% of Safeway pharmacies provide drive-thru service.

Role of Retail Pharmacies in Distributing COVID-19 Vaccine

All the top supermarket pharmacy chains and retail pharmacy chains have signed up to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine whenever it becomes available. The list currently does not include Whole Foods which would have helped Amazon get the word out on their online pharmacy service.

Amazon recently announced it would be selling prescription drugs at a discount through its website. While this would affect companies such as GoodRx, the fact that Amazon-owned Whole Foods has more than 500 stores across the US should worry retail pharmacy stores as well. Supermarket pharmacies under Walmart, Target, Publix, and more which rank higher than retail pharmacies in terms of customer satisfaction, will need to incentivize their online pharmacies in order to avoid losing customers to Amazon.

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