Thrift Store Deserts: US Towns Where the Nearest Thrift Store Is More Than 20 Miles Away

Across 1,628 US Towns, 1,480,113 Residents Live More Than 20 Miles From a Thrift Store

ThriftAtlas tracks 20,629 stores across 7,098 cities in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Across 19,457 incorporated places evaluated, the nationwide median distance to the nearest second-hand shop is 5.5 miles. However, 1,628 places fall into thrift store deserts, where residents live more than 20 miles away. These locations hold 1,480,113 residents, representing 0.7% of the 211,015,072 people residing in the evaluated towns.

Town	State	Population	Miles to nearest store
Liberal	KS	19,184	24.5
Blythe	CA	17,320	58.6
Rio Grande City	TX	15,526	27.6
Hereford	TX	14,860	28.9
Marshall	MO	13,791	26.6
Pierre	SD	13,788	34.7
Andrews	TX	13,677	31.3
Mendota	CA	12,623	20.9
Artesia	NM	12,550	36.7
Roma	TX	11,635	39.0
Magnolia	AR	10,759	32.5
Town of Pecos	TX	10,224	51.9
Sweetwater	TX	10,196	33.5
Camden	AR	10,116	24.1
Yazoo City	MS	9,913	27.0

Source: ThriftAtlas directory, data as of 2026-09-26.

State	Desert towns	Residents	Share of residents
Alaska	129	76,912	15.5%
North Dakota	181	61,174	9.8%
Montana	71	56,351	9.6%
South Dakota	121	62,125	9.3%
Wyoming	42	30,723	7.6%
Arkansas	73	83,621	4.0%
Mississippi	28	51,934	3.5%
Kansas	99	81,442	3.3%
Nebraska	111	46,116	3.0%
New Mexico	43	40,206	2.8%

Source: ThriftAtlas directory, data as of 2026-09-26.

Liberal, Kansas Leads Thrift Deserts With 19,184 Residents Living 24.5 Miles Away

The single largest incorporated place located more than 20 miles from a thrift store is Liberal, Kansas, where 19,184 residents sit 24.5 miles from the nearest shop. Blythe, California ranks second in population with 17,320 residents and sits 58.6 miles from a store. In Texas, Rio Grande City counts 15,526 residents located 27.6 miles away, and Hereford counts 14,860 residents at a distance of 28.9 miles. Several smaller desert communities face longer drives; Town of Pecos, Texas has 10,224 residents located 51.9 miles from the nearest listed shop.

North Dakota Has 181 Desert Places While Alaska Leaves 15.5% of Residents in Deserts

North Dakota records the highest count of isolated towns, with 181 desert places containing 61,174 residents, or 9.8% of its town population. Thrift stores in Texas serve many dense cities, but the state still logs 145 desert places with 315,547 residents. South Dakota follows with 121 desert places and 62,125 residents (9.3%), while Nebraska counts 111 desert places with 46,116 residents (3.0%).

In Alaska, 129 desert places leave 76,912 residents—15.5% of its town population—more than 20 miles away. By comparison, Indiana and South Carolina list only 1 desert place each.

Landfills Received 37.4 Million Tons of Durable Goods in 2018

According to the U.S. EPA, landfills received 37.4 million tons of durable goods in 2018, which represented 25.6 percent of total landfilling¹. Residents planning to drop off furniture or clothing can verify open drop-off hours on local directory pages for thrift stores accepting donations or check neighboring county listings before driving.

Straight-Line Metrics Evaluate 19,457 Places but Exclude Unincorporated Areas

These numbers come with specific methodological boundaries. Distance is measured in a straight line from representative latitude and longitude coordinates in Census Gazetteer files², rather than actual road travel miles. The dataset analyzes 19,457 incorporated places with Census population estimates³, which means unincorporated communities are excluded. Any thrift shop not yet listed in the directory makes an adjacent town appear farther from retail than it is. Furthermore, local yard sales, church rummage sales, and peer-to-peer online resale platforms are not counted in these figures.

How we measured

For each incorporated place in the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer that has a Vintage 2024 population estimate — 19,457 places home to 211,015,072 residents — we measured the straight-line distance from the place's official interior point to the nearest thrift store in our directory. A place counts as a thrift desert when that distance is more than 20 miles; places where we list at least one store count as zero miles. Straight-line distance is shorter than driving distance, and a store we have not listed yet makes a town look farther away than it is — if you know one, write to us and we will add it.

Data: ThriftAtlas listings as published on 2026-09-26 · U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 population estimates (https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2024/cities/totals/sub-est2024.csv) · U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer place file (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_place_national.zip).

Sources

1. U.S. EPA — Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data — Additionally, the combustion of durable goods was 9.1 million tons (26.4 percent of total combustion with recovery), and landfills received 37.4 million tons (25.6 percent of total landfilling) in 2018.
2. U.S. Census Bureau — Gazetteer Files — The files include geographic identifier codes, names, area measurements, and representative latitude and longitude coordinates.
3. U.S. Census Bureau — Population and Housing Unit Estimates — The annual population and housing unit estimates are released on a flow basis throughout the year.

By the ThriftAtlas editorial team · data as of 2026-09-26 · published 2026-09-26. Spotted an error or a missing store? Tell us and we will correct it.