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Pharmacies in North Carolina

How many pharmacies exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 23 North Carolina counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Pharmacies · Drug stores · Community & compounding pharmacies. Counted together because official statistics use one 446110 code.

State verdict (covered counties): In line with the U.S. rate — 92% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in North Carolina

Pharmacies

835

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

0.9

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

1.0

per 10,000 present

State index

92%

vs. U.S.

Residents

7,284,936

in covered counties

Workers

3,028,827

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 23 North Carolina counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing pharmacies and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in North Carolina

City	County	Pharmacies	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Gastonia	Gaston County	33–53	238,761	70,983	1.2	117–173%	Range spans bands
Chapel Hill	Orange County	21–31	159,674	52,230	1.1	109–141%	Above average
Hickory	Catawba County	24–36	172,263	85,017	1.1	108–153%	Range spans bands
Winston Salem	Forsyth County	56–90	416,830	178,036	1.1	107–134%	Above average
Leland	Brunswick County	18–34	151,179	32,781	1.1	104–185%	Range spans bands
Morrisville	Wake County	154–212	1,254,117	563,740	1.0	97–110%	Range spans bands
Mooresville	Iredell County	23–41	192,680	79,784	1.0	96–129%	Range spans bands
Charlotte	Mecklenburg County	150–246	1,173,019	704,489	1.0	95–105%	Range spans bands
Burlington	Alamance County	21–35	187,008	63,483	1.0	93–137%	Range spans bands
Durham	Durham County	39–61	327,804	174,233	0.9	91–110%	Range spans bands
Wilmington	New Hanover County	27–45	237,060	118,886	0.9	88–121%	Range spans bands
Asheville	Buncombe County	30–64	269,596	125,376	0.9	87–140%	Range spans bands
Monroe	Union County	25–33	250,703	61,424	0.9	86–107%	Range spans bands
Fayetteville	Cumberland County	35–61	348,651	97,067	0.9	85–139%	Range spans bands
Thomasville	Davidson County	14–26	142,181	36,165	0.9	85–121%	Range spans bands
Dunn	Harnett County	11–25	114,473	23,154	0.9	85–177%	Range spans bands
Greenville	Pitt County	18–44	180,210	62,893	0.9	82–165%	Range spans bands
Concord	Cabarrus County	23–33	236,047	74,847	0.8	81–103%	Range spans bands
Greensboro	Guilford County	59–117	577,982	264,336	0.8	80–124%	Range spans bands
Salisbury	Rowan County	12–36	133,355	45,889	0.8	74–211%	Range spans bands
Clayton	Johnston County	16–34	189,124	42,187	0.8	74–138%	Range spans bands
Jacksonville	Onslow County	16–34	204,246	41,476	0.7	69–129%	Range spans bands
Asheboro	Randolph County	10–32	127,973	30,351	0.7	68–189%	Range spans bands

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

117%

109%

108%

107%

104%

97%

96%

95%

Most competitors per capita

68%

69%

74%

74%

80%

81%

82%

85%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few pharmacies may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.