There are 150,174 convenience stores operating in the United States, according to the 2023 NACS/NielsenIQ Convenience Industry Store Count. That’s up 1.5% from December 31, 2021, and roughly 100 stores fewer than before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
With the U.S. population at 334.2 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there is one convenience store per every 2,225 people.
The gain of 2,148 stores was largely driven by an uptick in the number of c-stores selling fuel. In all, the industry picked up 2,037 additional sites that offer fuel and 111 c-stores that don’t sell fuel. This also marks a reversal from prior years, which saw the number of fuel-selling locations contract as the number of non-fuel c-stores expanded.
U.S. convenience stores sell an estimated 80% of the fuel purchased in the country.
As of 2023, 118,678 convenience stores sell motor fuels (79%) vs. 116,641 stores (77.6%) that sold fuels as of December 31, 2021. The number of c-stores that do not sell fuel stands at 31,496.
The number of single-store operators grew by 1,087 stores to 90,423, a 1.1% increase over year-end 2021 (89,336) but shy of the 92,198 single-store operators in 2020. As of December 31, 2022, 63,690 single-operator c-stores sell fuel.
A-size companies (1-10 stores) account for 63.2% of all convenience stores. E-size companies (501+ stores) make up the next-largest share with 21.1%.
Top 10 States by Store Count as of December 31, 2022
- Texas — 16,018
- California — 12,000
- Florida —9,596
- New York —7,917
- Georgia —6,719
- North Carolina —5,749
- Ohio —5,673
- Michigan — 4,879
- Pennsylvania — 4,728
- Illinois —4,666
Source: 2023 NACS/NielsenIQ Convenience Industry Store Count
