Biggest Retail Cities in Texas: Top 25 Towns Ranked
Texas has 196,483 independent retail places spread across 991 towns. Houston leads with 22,727 — 11.6% of the state. The top 25 towns, and the eight most common store types, by count.
Published September 15, 2026 · Useful Economy Research
Texas by the numbers
Where the stores are
Texas has 196,483 independent retail places — 644.1 per 100,000 residents, 0.89× the national average of 724.8 and 44th of the 50 states and D.C. on retail density.
Houston holds 22,727 of them (11.6% of the state total). San Antonio is second with 10,867 (5.5%). The 25 towns below account for 48.9% of Texas's retail; 991 towns in the state have at least five places.
The most common store type is the construction supplies store (23,516, 12.0% of the state's retail), followed by miscellaneous stores (14,225).
Top 25 retail towns in Texas
Independent retail places per city or town, with each town's share of Texas's 196,483 total. Only towns with at least five places are counted.
| # | City / town | Retail places | Share of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | 22,727 | 11.6% |
| 2 | San Antonio | 10,867 | 5.5% |
| 3 | Dallas | 10,826 | 5.5% |
| 4 | Austin | 8,850 | 4.5% |
| 5 | Fort Worth | 5,575 | 2.8% |
| 6 | El Paso | 4,386 | 2.2% |
| 7 | Plano | 2,730 | 1.4% |
| 8 | Lubbock | 2,526 | 1.3% |
| 9 | Arlington | 2,496 | 1.3% |
| 10 | Corpus Christi | 2,389 | 1.2% |
| 11 | Spring | 2,025 | 1.0% |
| 12 | Katy | 1,960 | 1.0% |
| 13 | Amarillo | 1,892 | 1.0% |
| 14 | McAllen | 1,697 | 0.9% |
| 15 | Tyler | 1,613 | 0.8% |
| 16 | Frisco | 1,516 | 0.8% |
| 17 | Laredo | 1,512 | 0.8% |
| 18 | Waco | 1,468 | 0.7% |
| 19 | Irving | 1,440 | 0.7% |
| 20 | Garland | 1,419 | 0.7% |
| 21 | Conroe | 1,270 | 0.6% |
| 22 | Beaumont | 1,258 | 0.6% |
| 23 | Midland | 1,255 | 0.6% |
| 24 | Longview | 1,240 | 0.6% |
| 25 | Abilene | 1,175 | 0.6% |
Counts use the city/town label on each place, so boroughs, villages and unincorporated areas appear separately from their parent city.
Most common store types in Texas
The eight largest independent-retail categories in Texas, with each one's share of the state's 196,483 places.
| # | Store type | Places | Share of state retail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Construction Supplies Store | 23,516 | 12.0% |
| 2 | Miscellaneous Store | 14,225 | 7.2% |
| 3 | Clothing Store | 11,494 | 5.8% |
| 4 | Furniture and Home Store | 10,645 | 5.4% |
| 5 | Print Store | 8,318 | 4.2% |
| 6 | Mobile Phone Store | 7,876 | 4.0% |
| 7 | Hardware Store | 7,251 | 3.7% |
| 8 | Cosmetics Store | 7,169 | 3.6% |
Each place is counted once under its primary retail category. Grocery, pharmacy, fuel, liquor, cannabis, automotive and mall categories are excluded.
Frequently asked questions
- Which city in Texas has the most retail stores?
- Houston, with 22,727 independent retail places — 11.6% of Texas's 196,483 total. San Antonio is next with 10,867.
- How many independent retail stores are in Texas?
- 196,483 shoppable independent retail places, or 644.1 per 100,000 residents (0.89× the U.S. average of 724.8). That ranks Texas 44th of 51 for retail density.
- What is the most common type of store in Texas?
- The construction supplies store: 23,516 places, or 12.0% of Texas's retail. Miscellaneous Stores are second at 14,225.
Related reports
National retail reports
More states
- Biggest Retail Cities in South Carolina: Top 25 Towns Ranked39,138 retail places
- Biggest Retail Cities in South Dakota: Top 25 Towns Ranked7,453 retail places
- Biggest Retail Cities in Tennessee: Top 25 Towns Ranked55,102 retail places
- Biggest Retail Cities in Utah: Top 25 Towns Ranked20,933 retail places
- Biggest Retail Cities in Vermont: Top 25 Towns Ranked6,835 retail places
- Biggest Retail Cities in Virginia: Top 25 Towns Ranked55,865 retail places
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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