In the quiet arms race of discount aisles, North Carolina has slipped past Georgia to claim bragging rights as the state with the second-most Dollar General stores in the country. The reshuffling of the rankings, visible in recent corporate documents, follows another brisk year of openings across the Tar Heel State’s small towns and outer suburbs.
Industry data from LocationsCloud shows Dollar General added a net 29 stores in North Carolina over the past year, bringing the total to roughly 1,150 locations statewide. That uptick lines up with the chain’s broader national growth pattern and reflects the shift in the state-by-state standings.
Company filing and projections
Dollar General told investors it finished the fiscal year with nearly 20,900 stores nationwide and is not easing off the gas, forecasting roughly 450 new U.S. openings in 2026 as part of thousands of planned real-estate projects. The expansion strategy and pipeline are laid out in the company’s quarterly release, where Dollar General detailed its latest earnings and store plans.
Those new locations fit squarely within the playbook the retailer has followed for years. Stores average about 7,500 square feet, and roughly 80% of them are in towns with 20,000 people or fewer, according to the company’s federal securities filing. The Dollar General 10‑K describes the typical store footprint and the logic behind concentrating on smaller communities.
Why North Carolina?
North Carolina still has a sizable rural population - about 3.47 million people, according to the state Department of Commerce - which makes it a natural fit for a chain built around small-town convenience. The North Carolina Department of Commerce highlights that rural footprint, and company executives added on a March earnings call that roughly 75% of Americans now live within five miles of a Dollar General, a reach that helps explain the retailer’s aggressive rollout. Investing.com transcribed the call.
On the ground, the buildout lands with a mix of relief and skepticism. In many North Carolina towns, the stores offer quick access to basic goods for residents who live far from big-box grocers. In others, the openings spark questions about how many discount outlets a community really needs and what that means for local retail. Community reactions run the gamut from enthusiastic to wary, as reported by the Raleigh News & Observer.
