The 50 Biggest Independent-Retail Cities in America
Where are the most independent storefronts? We ranked U.S. cities and towns by their raw count of shoppable independent retail.
Published June 8, 2026 · Data updated September 15, 2026 · Useful Economy Research
America's retail capitals
By sheer count of independent storefronts, New York, New York leads the country with 26,306 shoppable retail shops. The leaderboard below is dominated by the largest metros — population drives raw counts — but it's a useful map of where independent retail clusters thickest.
Top 50 cities by independent-retail count
Shoppable independent retail storefronts per city/town.
Raw counts, not per-capita. Some large cities split across multiple place labels (e.g. New York City's boroughs), which can divide their totals.
Frequently asked questions
- Which U.S. city has the most independent retail stores?
- New York, New York has the most, with 26,306 shoppable independent retail storefronts in this dataset.
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The densest retail states
- Biggest Retail Cities in Vermont: Top 25 Towns Ranked#1 for retail per capita — 1055.7 per 100k
- Biggest Retail Cities in Wyoming: Top 25 Towns Ranked#2 for retail per capita — 992.9 per 100k
- Biggest Retail Cities in New Hampshire: Top 25 Towns Ranked#3 for retail per capita — 983.8 per 100k
- Biggest Retail Cities in Maine: Top 25 Towns Ranked#4 for retail per capita — 970.3 per 100k
- Biggest Retail Cities in Montana: Top 25 Towns Ranked#5 for retail per capita — 917.9 per 100k
- Biggest Retail Cities in North Dakota: Top 25 Towns Ranked#6 for retail per capita — 910.3 per 100k
- Biggest Retail Cities in Hawaii: Top 25 Towns Ranked#7 for retail per capita — 848.3 per 100k
- Biggest Retail Cities in Oregon: Top 25 Towns Ranked#8 for retail per capita — 837.3 per 100k
Store types by state
- Hardware Stores by State: Every State Ranked90,909 nationwide
- Clothing Stores by State: Every State Ranked140,993 nationwide
- Furniture Stores by State: Every State Ranked130,785 nationwide
- Shoe Stores by State: Every State Ranked83,128 nationwide
- Gift Shops by State: Every State Ranked71,520 nationwide
- Jewelry Stores by State: Every State Ranked70,320 nationwide
- Pet Stores by State: Every State Ranked63,517 nationwide
- Florists by State: Every State Ranked59,674 nationwide
Data & method
- Source: Foursquare Open Source Places (U.S. slice, Apache-2.0), counted by Useful Economy. Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2023 estimates (July 1, 2023).
- What counts as retail: an open place carrying a Retail category label. Grocery and other food retail, pharmacies, convenience stores and fuel, liquor, cannabis, tobacco and vape, automotive, gun and hunting, adult, betting, fireworks, markets and shopping malls are excluded, so the counts describe shoppable independent storefronts rather than all commerce.
- Counting rule: each place is counted once, under its primary retail category and the city/town label on its address. Town tables include only towns with at least five places. Per-100k figures divide by state population; city populations are not used.
- Generated: September 15, 2026. Figures refresh when the source data is re-counted.
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