What States Saw the Most C-Store Growth in 2016?
By Greg Lindenberg on Feb. 06, 2017ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- California and New York lead the nation in convenience-store growth in terms of new units added in the past year, according to the 2017 NACS/Nielsen Convenience Industry Store Count, which increased to a record 154,535 stores as of Dec. 31, 2016, a 0.22% net increase (340 stores) from 154,195 as of Dec. 31, 2015.
The top 10 states accounted for 79,054 stores in 2016—more than half (51.16%) of the total—adding 534 net units. But 23 states experienced declines in total store count from the prior year, NACS said. The association did not provide data for all states.
The top 10 and bottom three state rankings remained virtually unchanged. Among the top states, only Illinois and Pennsylvania shifted in the ranking, flipping positions No. 9 and No. 10 from last year; among the bottom states, Delaware and Wyoming traded the No. 49 and No. 50 slots.
Here are more details on the top 10 and bottom three states …
1. Texas
Among the top 10 states, Texas continues to lead in c-store count with 15,671 stores, adding 64 units, a 0.41% increase from 15,607 stores in 2015.
2. California
California, at No. 2, has 11,774 stores. It grew by 234 units, up from 11,540 stores in 2105. That's a 2.03% increase, the largest among the top 10 states.
3. Florida
At No. 3, Florida has 9,930 stores. It added 21 units, a 0.21% increase from its 9,909 stores in 2015.
4. New York
New York, with 8,570 stores, comes in at No. 4. It had unit growth of 124 stores, or 1.47%, from 8,446 stores in 2015.
5. Georgia
Georgia ranks at No. 5 with 6,761 stores. It experienced a 0.06% decrease, losing four stores from its 6,765 stores in 2015.
6. North Carolina
At 6,306 stores, No. 6-ranked North Carolina lost 24 units in 2016, a 0.38% drop from 6,330 stores in 2015. This represented the greatest decline among the top 10 states.
7. Ohio
Ohio comes in at No. 7, with 5,635 stores in 2016. It saw a 0.54% increase (30 units) from 5,605 stores in 2015.
8. Michigan
Michigan, with 4,883 stores in 2016, grew by three units or 0.06% compared to 4,880 stores in 2015.
9. Pennsylvania
At No. 9, Pennsylvania added 55 stores. It grew from 4,732 stores in 2015 to 4,787 stores in 2016, a 1.16% increase.
10. Illinois
And at No. 10, Illinois had 4,737 stores in 2016. It added 31 units in 2015, an increase of 0.66% from 4,706 stores in 2015.
48. Alaska
Among the bottom three states, Alaska, at No. 48, exhibited the only growth, adding 11 units. It had a total of 217 stores in 2016 compared to 206 in 2015, a 5.34% increase.
49. Delaware
At No. 49, Delaware had 348 stores in 2016. It lost two units, or 0.57%, from 350 stores in 2015.
50. Wyoming
And Wyoming, at No. 50, had 354 stores in 2016 vs. 357 in 2015. That loss of three stores represented a 0.84% decline.