Chain stores in North Carolina
North Carolina has locations of 367 of the chains on our maps. The most common is Dollar General, with 1,105 locations, followed by Subway (563). The chains most typical of North Carolina, compared with the rest of the country, are Food Lion, Bojangles and First Citizens Bank.
Most North Carolina chains
Chains with far more locations per person in North Carolina than in the country as a whole.
| Chain | Locations here | Per 100,000 people | vs. national rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Lion | 520 | 4.7 | 14× |
| Bojangles | 350 | 3.2 | 12× |
| First Citizens Bank | 201 | 1.8 | 9.5× |
| Cook Out | 145 | 1.3 | 12× |
| Biscuitville | 71 | 0.6 | 25× |
| Ingles | 68 | 0.6 | 11× |
| Lowes Foods | 60 | 0.5 | 22× |
| Big Lots | 50 | 0.5 | 7.0× |
| Clean Juice | 15 | 0.1 | 9.2× |
| Eggs Up Grill | 20 | 0.2 | 5.9× |
| sweetFrog | 35 | 0.3 | 5.3× |
| Sheetz | 144 | 1.3 | 5.1× |
| Truist | 269 | 2.4 | 4.4× |
| Hardee's | 199 | 1.8 | 4.1× |
| Lidl | 26 | 0.2 | 3.9× |
Most common chains in North Carolina
| Chain | Category | Locations | Per 100,000 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar General | Discount store | 1,105 | 10.0 |
| Subway | Sandwiches & subs | 563 | 5.1 |
| Shell | Gas brand | 560 | 5.1 |
| BP | Gas brand | 556 | 5.0 |
| Food Lion | Grocery | 520 | 4.7 |
| Starbucks | Coffee | 514 | 4.7 |
| McDonald's | Burgers | 479 | 4.3 |
| Family Dollar | Discount store | 388 | 3.5 |
| Bojangles | Chicken | 350 | 3.2 |
| Dollar Tree | Discount store | 350 | 3.2 |
| Circle K | Convenience & gas | 347 | 3.1 |
| Exxon | Gas brand | 335 | 3.0 |
| Domino's | Pizza | 320 | 2.9 |
| CVS Pharmacy | Pharmacy | 315 | 2.9 |
| Walgreens | Pharmacy | 304 | 2.8 |
| Taco Bell | Mexican | 280 | 2.5 |
| Advance Auto Parts | Auto parts | 279 | 2.5 |
| Dunkin' | Coffee | 274 | 2.5 |
| Marathon | Gas brand | 273 | 2.5 |
| Truist | Bank | 269 | 2.4 |
| H&R Block | Services | 265 | 2.4 |
| Edward Jones | Services | 251 | 2.3 |
| Wendy's | Burgers | 250 | 2.3 |
| Speedway | Convenience & gas | 246 | 2.2 |
| AutoZone | Auto parts | 244 | 2.2 |
Big chains with no North Carolina location
These chains are in at least 30 states but have no North Carolina location in our data: Sinclair and Conoco.
Store locations from All the Places (data from September 2026), for the 367 chains in Guess the Chain with a location here. Population: 11,046,024 (Census Bureau estimate for 2024). Counts can be a little off as stores open and close.