North Carolina Now Has 1,150 Dollar General Stores, Second Most in Nation
The state now holds second place for Dollar General locations across the United States. With 1,150 stores, only Texas has more.
North Carolina has passed Georgia. The state now holds second place for Dollar General locations across the United States. With 1,150 stores, only Texas has more.
The Tar Heel State added 29 locations over the previous year. That's one every 13 days on average. The chain ran 467 stores in 2008. The total has more than doubled in less than two decades.
About 80% of Dollar General stores sit in towns with fewer than 20,000 residents. North Carolina has around 3.5 million people living in rural communities, according to the U.S. Census. This gives the company a large customer base.
"There are still rural areas out there that don't have Dollar Generals, that don't have too many Dollar Generals," said Rick Niswander to The News & Observer. Niswander is an emeritus accounting professor at East Carolina University who researches discount chains.
The retreat of rival Family Dollar creates more room for growth. The Charlotte-founded competitor has closed hundreds of U.S. stores in the past few years.
Expansion plans have sparked pushback from communities across the state, from Transylvania County's "No Dollar in the Hollar" campaign in the western mountains to the White Cross community in southern Orange County. Opposition has focused on the chain's employee and public safety record, its exterior designs, and concerns that it crowds out grocery stores and mom-and-pop shops.
The company expects to open more than 400 new stores nationwide in 2026. But its stock price, which peaked in late 2022 at around $260 a share, now trades below $120. On its March 12 earnings call, the company projected weak sales as lower-income customers tighten discretionary spending.
