This Is the Busiest Grocery Chain in Your State
This country’s grocery chains are a lot more abundant than you might think: many of the most popular stores vary greatly from state to state. Using DataHerald as our source, we took a look at the most popular grocery chains in every single state over the last two years. Since all of them had Costco, Walmart, or Aldi as their number one (and we assume you’re not here to read the same three words over and over), we’ll make this more interesting and talk about those next-tier grocery chains, the ones that clocked in right under the megastores.
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Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Aldi
3rd: Publix
Known also for their top-tier deli sandwiches, Publix has the attention of everybody in Alabama that doesn’t go to Walmart.
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Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Fred Meyer
Originally founded in Portland, Oregon, Fred Meyer has made their way to the top of the list in the Last Frontier firmly above Safeway and Carrs.
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Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Fry’s Food & Drug Stores
Despite the similar logo, Fry’s Food & Drug Stores are not the same company as the now-defunct electronics company. They’re far more popular in Arizona than any other non-Costco or Walmart chain.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Harps Food Store
You’ll see Kroger a lot here; they’re not Walmart, Costco, or Aldi, but they’re very prevalent. Arkansas loves Kroger, far more than local stores like Harps and Brookshires.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Safeway
Though Southern Californians might know Safeway under the name Vons, anybody in Central and Northern California knows Safeway, with nearly 250 locations across the state.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: King Soopers
Colorado’s beloved grocery chain actually rivals Costco, with very similar numbers over the last two years. You won’t find a King Soopers outside of Colorado or Wyoming.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Stop & Shop
3rd: Costco
Even Costco isn’t as popular in Connecticut as Stop & Shop, which has been around since 1892.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Food Lion
3rd: Lidl
With over 11,000 stores across the U.S. and Europe, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The German-based Lidl has a strong grip on the East Coast, leading sales in Maryland as well.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Publix
3rd: Costco
You can’t walk 10 feet without hitting a Publix in Florida — their 800 locations state-wide help with that.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Costco
Walmart has over 7,000,000 more visits monthly over the last few years than any other grocery chain, but sitting above both Costco and Publix is Kroger, which thrives in Georgia.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Foodland Hawaii
Costco and Walmart are hundreds of thousands of visitors busier than any of Hawaii’s other chains, but Foodland stands strong despite only about 30 locations throughout the islands.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Albertsons
Oddly only one of two states with Albertson’s in the top, it only barely eclipses WinCo Foods.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Aldi
3rd: Costco
4th: Jewel-Osco
Chicago’s favorite grocery chain falls beneath the usual titans but stays far busier than Kroger.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Aldi
Another Kroger victory, bringing in more business than Aldi, Costco, and Meijer.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Fareway Stores
3rd: Hy-Vee
As usual, Walmart destroys everybody else, but the Boone-born Fareway is the most popular of all the local chains.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Dillons
3rd: Aldi
Dillons stays significantly busier than Costco, but that shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, seeing that Dillons falls under the Kroger empire.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Costco
Kroger’s got a major leg up over everybody that isn’t Walmart in Kentucky, including Costco, Aldi, and Five Star Food Mart.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Rouses
3rd: Costco
Of Rouses 64 locations, 54 of them are in Louisiana, making them more popular than Kroger, Costco, and Super 1 Foods.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Hannaford Supermarkets
3rd: Market Basket
Founded in Portland, Maine over 100 years ago, Hannaford Supermarkets have grown to over 180 locations across the north east.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Aldi
4th: Lidl
Lidl can’t compete with Walmart, Costco, or Aldi in Maryland, but they still edge out the ever-popular Giant Food Stores.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Market Basket
3rd: Stop & Shop
With just under 100 stores in four states, Market Basket remains Massachusetts' top choice, outdone only by Walmart.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Meijer
3rd: Kroger
You wouldn’t expect a company whose name contains a silent letter to be hugely popular in Michigan, but neither Kroger, Aldi, or Costco can compete.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Aldi
4th: Cub Foods
Minnesota stays connected to the big three, but Cub Foods’ 106 stores still beat out Hy-Vee.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Costco
Food Giant, Costco, and Aldi attract a nearly identical amount of visitors every year, but above them sits Kroger. They’re still underneath Walmart by about five million.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Price Chopper
4th: Schnucks
Born in St. Louis in 1939, Schnucks doesn’t usually do business the way Walmart, Costco, and Aldi do. Yet, in the last two years, Schnucks averaged just under 100,000 visitors a month.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Albertsons
You’d expect Albertsons to top the charts in more places than just Montana and Idaho. The locations in Big Sky Country draw more customers than both Super 1 Foods and Safeway.
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Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Hy-Vee
Despite having only 26 locations in Nebraska, Hy-Vee is busier than both Aldi and Baker’s Supermarkets.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Smith's Food & Drug Stores
Created in Utah in 1911, Smith’s has over 140 locations and, in Nevada, dominates WinCo and Albertsons.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Market Basket
3rd: Hannaford Supermarkets
With only around 30 stores in the state, Market Basket outperforms Hannaford, Shaw’s, and Costco.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: ShopRite
The Garden State loves ShopRite, beaten out only by Costco and Walmart.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Smith's Food & Drug Stores
Lowes, Albertsons, and Smith’s are all pretty deadlocked over the last two years in New Mexico, but Smith’s numbers are slightly higher than the others, averaging about 30,000 visits a month.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Aldi
4th: Stop & Shop
Nobody can compete with Walmart in New York, smashing the competition by millions of customers per month, but Stop & Shop stays busier than Price Chopper, and at times even outsold Aldi.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Food Lion
3rd: Aldi
Walmart leads by a casual five million visitors per month, but Food Lion is quite busy in North Carolina, with over a million customers a month over the last two years.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Cash Wise
There are only 26 stores in the Cash Wise kingdom, but they still remain busier than Hornbacher’s and Hugo’s, with around 30 thousand shoppers per month.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Aldi
Surprise, surprise. There are just short of 200 Krogers in Ohio, who are millions of shoppers ahead of Aldi, Costco, and Meijer.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Aldi
3rd: Homeland
93 of Homeland’s 112 stores are based in Oklahoma, where most other markets don’t get as busy.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Safeway
Safeway was just about tied with Fred Meyer throughout most of 2020, but in the second half of 2021, Safeway took a significant lead by almost 100,000 visits per month.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Aldi
3rd: Costco
4th: Giant Food Stores
Giant has over 150 stores across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and New Jersey, pulling in well over 300,000 people per month.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Stop & Shop
3rd: Aldi
Though only 27 of Stop & Shop’s 400+ locations exist in Rhode Island, they beat out Aldi, Dave’s, and Market Basket.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Food Lion
3rd: Aldi
The Carolinas are loyal to Food Lion, with just under 500,000 people shopping with them per month.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Hy-Vee
Aldi and Sunshine Foods can’t top Hy-Vee in South Carolina, who still fall short of Costco and Walmart.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Aldi
Nearly two million people hit Kroger a month in Tennessee, beating Aldi, Costco, and Food City.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: H-E-B
3rd: Kroger
Texas is big, and where a staggering 30 million people shop at Walmart per month, H-E-B is in a well-earned second place, attracting around five million.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Smith's Food & Drug Stores
Smith’s was born in Utah, and today it’s far more popular than Macey’s and Harmons.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Price Chopper
3rd: Hannaford Supermarkets
Hannaford has a stronghold in this area, but Price Chopper managed to outshine them when Hannaford took a huge customer dip in July 2021.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Kroger
In Virginia, only Costco and Walmart are more popular than Kroger, where 500,000 people were shopping every month over the last two years.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Costco
3rd: Safeway
In PNW fashion, Safeways are everywhere. They’ve got 181 locations in Washington alone.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Kroger
3rd: Aldi
At long last, the final time Kroger will appear on this list. Even Food Lion, which is exceedingly popular in the south, does not compare.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Aldi
3rd: Costco
4th: Pick 'n Save
Pick ‘n Save edges out Festival Foods Wisconsin here, bringing in almost 300,000 customers monthly.
Busiest: Walmart
2nd: Smith's Food & Drug Stores
3rd: Safeway
Neither Safeway, Albertsons, or King Soopers can match the crowds at Smith’s in Wyoming, who only fall short of Walmart throughout the state.
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