I had a great time collaborating with Laura Herberg, civic reporter for Outlier Media, on examining the change in chain pharmacy locations in the city. I’ve mostly tracked pharmacies and convenience stores like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens as they are often a secondary food retail access point preferred by Detroiters. Many of these locations have converted over the last decade into dollar stores, which have their own issues and generally suppress grocery opportunities.

Check out the slider below to compare 2017 locations with 2024 locations.

On Outlier Media:

Detroitography put together maps for Outlier Media that show current and closed locations. While the number of CVS and Rite Aid stores declined, the number of Walgreens locations increased after the chain opened a small, pharmacy-only shop on Woodward Avenue and three pharmacies inside hospitals.