Walk through any suburban neighborhood, small town main street, or even urban corner strip mall, and odds are you have passed a Kroger brand store without even noticing. When people ask How Many Stores Does Kroger Have, they are usually just curious about their local grocery options—but this number tells a far bigger story about food access, local economies, and the future of grocery shopping in the United States.
For shoppers, employees, investors, and small business owners, Kroger's store count shapes everything from gas prices to what produce shows up on shelves every week. In this guide, we will break down the official numbers, explain the different store brands Kroger operates, track growth over time, and break down what this massive footprint means for you. We will also clear up common misconceptions about which chains actually belong under the Kroger umbrella, and how that changes the total count.
The Official 2024 Answer To How Many Stores Does Kroger Have
As of the end of Kroger's 2024 fiscal first quarter, the company operates across 35 states and the District of Columbia. As of 2024, Kroger operates 2,719 physical grocery store locations, in addition to 1,617 in-store pharmacies and 335 fuel centers. This number excludes temporary pop-up locations, distribution centers, and corporate office spaces. It also only counts active, operating locations that are open to the public for regular shopping hours. Many sources report outdated numbers from before Kroger closed underperforming locations in 2023 and completed their latest round of brand consolidations.
Why The Official Count Is Often Confusing
If you have searched this question before, you have probably seen five different numbers floating around on different websites. This is not an accident. Kroger operates more than 20 separate retail brand names, and most people only recognize the main Kroger banner. Many counts also include distribution centers, pickup hubs, and wholesale locations that are not open to regular shoppers.
You will also see conflicting numbers because people count temporary holiday locations, test stores, and locations that are currently under construction. Kroger only reports fully operational, open stores in their official quarterly filings. Any number higher than 2,719 almost always includes one or more of these extra non-retail locations.
The most common mistakes people make when counting Kroger stores include:
- Counting owned distribution warehouses as retail stores
- Including locations that have been announced but not yet opened
- Forgetting to remove permanently closed locations from old data
- Counting every single gas pump island as a separate location
When in doubt, always check the latest investor report published directly by Kroger. These numbers are audited, updated every 90 days, and are the official count used by regulators, investors, and the company itself. Third party list sites are often 12 to 18 months out of date.
Kroger Store Count By Brand Family
Most people are shocked to learn that only around one third of Kroger's total stores actually have the word "Kroger" written on the front sign. The company has spent 40 years acquiring regional grocery chains, and in most cases they kept the original local brand name to retain customer loyalty. This is why you can shop at a Kroger owned store every week and never realize it.
Every store brand under Kroger ownership follows the same supply chain, uses the same loyalty program system, and shares the same private label product lines. Even if your local store has a different name, it counts towards the total Kroger store count.
Below is the breakdown of active stores by brand as of 2024:
| Brand Name | Total Open Stores |
|---|---|
| Kroger | 946 |
| Fred Meyer | 132 |
| King Soopers | 118 |
| Ralphs | 185 |
| All Other Regional Brands | 1338 |
Other well known brands owned by Kroger include Smith's, Fry's, Harris Teeter, QFC, and Pick 'n Save. Combined, these regional brands make up more than half of Kroger's total physical footprint. Kroger also owns 8 separate jewelry store chains, which are not included in the grocery store count.
How Kroger's Store Count Has Changed Over The Last Decade
Kroger has not just grown by buying other chains. Over the last 10 years, the company has also intentionally adjusted its footprint to match shifting shopping habits. This means they open new locations in fast growing areas, and close older stores that no longer meet performance goals.
In 2014, Kroger operated 2,626 total grocery stores. That means over 10 years, they have only added 93 net new locations. This number surprises most people, because you almost always hear about Kroger opening new stores. The net number stays small because for every new store they open, they close roughly one underperforming location.
If you track this change year over year, you will notice a clear pattern:
- Between 2014 and 2019, Kroger grew slowly by 15-25 stores per year
- In 2020 during the pandemic, Kroger temporarily closed just 12 locations total
- 2023 saw the largest round of closures, with 69 stores shut down permanently
- 2024 is on track for a small net gain of approximately 18 stores
This steady, slow growth is intentional. Kroger leadership has repeatedly stated that they prioritize profitable stores over maximum total count. Unlike many other retail chains, Kroger will never open a store just to mark a new territory on a map.
State Breakdown: Where Kroger Operates The Most Stores
Kroger does not operate evenly across the United States. There are 15 states where you will not find a single Kroger owned grocery store. Most of these states are in the northeast, where competing regional chains hold dominant market share. Kroger has also never expanded into Alaska or Hawaii.
Instead, Kroger has built extremely dense footprints in the regions where they operate. In many states, Kroger controls more than 30% of the entire grocery market. This density lets them run efficient supply chains, keep prices lower, and offer consistent service across every location.
The top 5 states for Kroger store count are:
- Texas: 327 stores
- Ohio: 281 stores
- California: 216 stores
- Georgia: 159 stores
- Indiana: 144 stores
Even in these top states, Kroger does not cover every single town. They tend to avoid extremely small rural towns with populations under 3,000 people. They also rarely open stores within 3 miles of another existing Kroger brand location, to avoid competing with themselves.
What Kroger's Massive Store Count Means For Shoppers
It is easy to look at the store count as just a big corporate number. But for regular people buying groceries every week, this size has very real, very noticeable effects on your shopping trip. Most of the benefits and downsides of shopping at Kroger trace directly back to how many stores they operate.
Because Kroger runs nearly 3,000 stores, they have unmatched buying power with food suppliers. This lets them negotiate lower prices for almost every product on the shelf. Independent studies consistently find that Kroger has 8-12% lower average prices than competing grocery chains of similar size.
Additional shopper benefits from Kroger's scale include:
- Consistent private label products across every store location
- Nationwide warranty coverage for all products sold in stores
- Loyalty points that work at every Kroger brand store in the country
- Same day pickup and delivery available at 98% of locations
There are downsides too. The same size that keeps prices low can also mean less local selection, and slower responses to community specific requests. In towns where Kroger is the only full service grocery store, they also have very little pressure to improve service or add new features. Like most things, this scale comes with tradeoffs for everyone.
Future Changes: How Many Stores Kroger Plans To Add By 2027
Kroger does not plan for explosive growth any time soon. Company leadership released their 3 year operating plan in early 2024, and laid out very clear goals for their store footprint. They are not trying to become the biggest grocery chain by count—they are trying to become the most profitable one.
Over the next three years, Kroger plans to open 75 brand new stores. At the same time, they plan to close approximately 60 underperforming existing locations. This will result in a net gain of just 15 total stores by the end of 2027. For reference, that is less new stores than they opened in a single year back in 2018.
Almost all new Kroger locations will fall into one of three categories:
- Small format neighborhood stores in fast growing suburban areas
- Full size stores with attached fuel centers in southern states
- Replacement stores for older locations that can not be renovated
Kroger also confirmed that they will not enter any new states before 2027. All growth will happen within the 35 states where they already operate. This means if you do not have a Kroger brand store near you today, you almost certainly will not get one for at least the next three years.
At the end of the day, the question How Many Stores Does Kroger Have has a clear official answer, but that number tells a much bigger story than just a count of buildings. This 2,719 store footprint shapes grocery prices, local jobs, and food access for nearly half of all Americans. It is the result of 140 years of growth, careful decisions, and millions of individual shopping trips every single day.
Next time you walk into your local grocery store, take a second to notice what brand is on the sign. If it is part of the Kroger family, you are part of one of the largest retail networks on the planet. If you found this guide helpful, share it with a friend who has ever wondered about the grocery store down the street, and check back every quarter for updated counts as Kroger adjusts their footprint.