Kroger by State 2024

Texas

Kroger is an American success and it was initially difficult to ascertain its exact locations. The retailer has long since branched off to become the Kroger Company, which also includes various other subsidiaries rather than the grocery retail stores. Originally, Kroger was founded by Bernard Kroger in Cincinnati, Ohio - which is still where operations are located and headquartered. The retail store began selling its products in 1883 and has over 2700 stores under its banner which spans 33 states as well as Washington D.C. In addition to its retail grocery stores, the Kroger Company contains over 2200 pharmacies across the nation and an additional 225 in-store medical clinics. Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in America by revenue and the fifth largest general retailer.

Kroger's success owes to its early start, as many other supermarket chains went out of business at the time, or rose out of need during the great depression. Its early beginnings and ability to pivot have made it a long success story that was able to adapt over time and is still alive more than 139 years later.

Although Texas holds the largest number of Krogers in the country, many states in the south represent a 10-15% spread of the entirety of the Kroger franchises. Texas is only marginally ahead, with a sum of 212 stores, only four larger than the home state of Ohio.

Ohio

Of course, it would be amiss if the state of Ohio did not make it near the top of the list, as the founder had begun operations in the capital city of Cincinnati in 1883. 23-year-old Bernard Kroger was the fifth born of 10 children, who had migrated to America from Germany with their parents. His father was a merchant, and taught Kroger the basic motto of the business, to never sell anything that you would not purchase. In 1883, businesses did not necessarily need to stand out from the crowd, as there were very few entrepreneurs that were successful enough or daring enough to brave the frontiers of opening a new business, rather choosing to be employed at more established locations or to collect natural resources for sale.

Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to create the store and positioned his products with unique marketing ideas that advertised to others that his store could fulfill all of their needs, reducing the need to frequent the other stores in the vicinity. His second store opened the next year, in 1884, and by 1902 Kroger had incorporated his grocery business and fitted many locations with a bakery, the first of its kind. There are currently 208 Kroger company locations in Ohio.

Georgia

Kroger company locations are extremely popular in Georgia, owning nearly 170 stores in the vicinity. Georgia is extremely important, as the 1989 withdrawal of Kroger stores from Chattanooga, Tennessee had left patrons without a retailer. The nearest Kroger store to that location is found within Dalton, where 2 separate stores are available to serve customers, one on Cleveland Highway and the other on Walnut Avenue.

Number of Kroger Stores by State

Thirty-three states have Kroger stores, primarily in the south and west. California has the most, with 302 locations. Texas’s 218 locations are the second most. Other states with at least 100 Kroger stores include Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana, Colorado, Washington, Arizona, Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky, and Illinois.

The only states without Kroger locations are Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.