Thrift Stores per Person: Which States Have the Most (2026 Data)

Wyoming leads the country with 13.3 stores per 100,000 residents

Nationwide, ThriftAtlas records 20,629 stores across 7,098 cities. That represents 6.1 stores per 100,000 residents across the national population of 340,110,988. Rates differ widely between state borders. Wyoming leads all states with 13.3 stores per 100,000 residents, counting 78 stores for 587,618 residents. Vermont follows in second place with 12.8 per 100,000 residents, totaling 83 stores for a population of 648,493.

States with smaller populations often record higher concentrations of secondhand retail locations. Beyond Wyoming and Vermont, Maine, Montana, Iowa, and Alaska also post higher per-person counts compared to the national baseline. These figures reflect storefront presence relative to residential population rather than the physical size of individual shops. While smaller communities may sustain few storefronts, those locations serve smaller resident bases, keeping per-capita store densities high.

Rank	State	Stores	Per 100,000
1	Wyoming	78	13.3
2	Vermont	83	12.8
3	Maine	147	10.5
4	Montana	115	10.1
5	Iowa	320	9.9
6	Alaska	69	9.3
7	North Dakota	73	9.2
8	Arkansas	271	8.8
9	North Carolina	942	8.5
10	Oregon	365	8.5

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

Rank	State	Stores	Per 100,000
42	Massachusetts	356	5.0
43	Texas	1,522	4.9
44	Nevada	152	4.7
45	California	1,775	4.5
46	Maryland	284	4.5
47	Hawaii	59	4.1
48	Utah	141	4.0
49	New York	772	3.9
50	New Jersey	351	3.7
51	Washington DC	16	2.3

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

California lists 1,775 stores but logs 4.5 per 100,000 residents

The highest absolute store counts belong to the most populous states, yet these states fall below the national average of 6.1 stores per 100,000 residents. California lists 1,775 stores for a population of 39,431,263, producing a rate of 4.5 per 100,000 residents. Texas counts 1,522 stores for 31,290,831 residents, which equals 4.9. Florida records 1,405 stores for 23,372,215 residents, resulting in 6.0 per 100,000 residents.

At the bottom of the per-capita rankings, Washington DC lists 16 stores for 702,250 residents, yielding 2.3 stores per 100,000 residents. New Jersey counts 351 stores for 9,500,851 residents, or 3.7 per 100,000 residents. Heavily populated urban areas hold significant commercial activity, but their large populations distribute store counts across millions of people. This dynamic results in lower per-person scores despite substantial numbers of retail establishments.

Textile generation reached 17 million tons in 2018 as retail options vary

A higher concentration of thrift locations gives shoppers and donors more physical storefronts relative to local population totals. EPA found that significant amounts of textiles enter the reuse market, but the amount of reused textiles is not included in the generation estimate¹. EPA also estimated that the generation of textiles in 2018 was 17 million tons¹.

Donors seeking to clear space at home can check thrift stores with furniture sections or locate facilities through lists of thrift stores accepting donations. Calling a location ahead of time to confirm donation intake policies or checking store hours on an official website before driving helps prevent unnecessary trips. Shoppers living near state borders can also look up neighboring towns for additional secondhand shopping options.

Catalog records cover 50 states and the District of Columbia

This dataset counts individual physical storefronts across 50 states and the District of Columbia. It does not measure retail square footage or total inventory capacity; a small volunteer shop and a warehouse-size store each count once. The directory collects locations from open geodata sources and owner submissions, so any business absent from those records is omitted.

Population calculations rely on the Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates rather than real-time census counts². The annual population and housing unit estimates are released on a flow basis throughout the year². In addition, these per-person store rates document where secondhand storefronts operate today, but the raw numbers do not explain the economic or regulatory reasons why certain states maintain higher concentrations than others.

How we measured

We counted every thrift store listed in the ThriftAtlas directory on 2026-09-26 — 20,629 stores after removing duplicates and closed or delisted locations — and divided each state's count by its population from the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 population estimates. The result is stores per 100,000 residents. Listings come from open geodata (Overture Maps Foundation, Foursquare OS Places, OpenStreetMap) and corrections sent in by store owners, so a store missing from those sources is missing from this count too.

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).

Sources

1. U.S. EPA — Textiles: Material-Specific Data — EPA also found that significant amounts of textiles enter the reuse market, but the amount of reused textiles is not included in the generation estimate.
2. 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.