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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Alabama

Busiest: Walmart2nd: 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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Alaska

Busiest: Walmart2nd: 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.Related: Where You Can Order Groceries Online With an EBT Card

Arizona

Busiest: Walmart2nd: 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.

Arkansas

Busiest: Walmart2nd: 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.

California

Busiest: Walmart2nd: 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.

Colorado

Busiest: Walmart2nd: 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.

Connecticut

Busiest: Walmart2nd: Stop & Shop

3rd: Costco

Even Costco isn’t as popular in Connecticut as Stop & Shop, which has been around since 1892.

Delaware

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.

Florida

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.

Georgia

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.

Hawaii

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.

Idaho

Busiest: Walmart

2nd: Costco

3rd: Albertsons

Oddly only one of two states with Albertson’s in the top, it only barely eclipses WinCo Foods.

Illinois

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.

Indiana

Busiest: Walmart

2nd: Kroger

3rd: Aldi

Another Kroger victory, bringing in more business than Aldi, Costco, and Meijer.

Iowa

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.

Kansas

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.

Kentucky

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.

Louisiana

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.

Maine

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.

Maryland

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.

Massachusetts

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.

Michigan

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.

Minnesota

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.

Mississippi

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.

Missouri

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.

Montana

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.

Related: Ways to Save at the Grocery Store

Nebraska

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.

Nevada

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.

New Hampshire

Busiest: Walmart

2nd: Market Basket

3rd: Hannaford Supermarkets

With only around 30 stores in the state, Market Basket outperforms Hannaford, Shaw’s, and Costco.

New Jersey

Busiest: Walmart

2nd: Costco

3rd: ShopRite

The Garden State loves ShopRite, beaten out only by Costco and Walmart.

New Mexico

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.

New York

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.

North Carolina

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.

North Dakota

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.

Ohio

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.

Oklahoma

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.

Oregon

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.

Pennsylvania

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.

Rhode Island

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.

South Carolina

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.

South Dakota

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.

Tennessee

Busiest: Walmart

2nd: Kroger

3rd: Aldi

Nearly two million people hit Kroger a month in Tennessee, beating Aldi, Costco, and Food City.

Texas

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.

Utah

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.

Vermont

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.

Virginia

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.

Washington

Busiest: Walmart

2nd: Costco

3rd: Safeway

In PNW fashion, Safeways are everywhere. They’ve got 181 locations in Washington alone.

West Virginia

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.

Wisconsin

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.

Wyoming

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.