The challenge
Pharmacies, which are a lifeline for many communities, have been closing in large numbers, but no national database existed to track the industry consolidation.
While urban and rural communities across the U.S. depend on pharmacies as a trusted care option and place for advice, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and independent pharmacies are all pulling back after waves of growth prior to the pandemic.
National database
Article series
Photography
Pharmacies, which are a lifeline for many communities, have been closing in large numbers, but no national database existed to track the industry consolidation.
In 2024, AP published an interactive map of pharmacy access that showed the number of pharmacies per capita for the ZIP codes and states where data was available. It also provided a dataset to AP member newsroom that for the first time publicly ranked states by the number of pharmacies per capita.
AP members in low-access states receive exclusive access to the dataset and information. At least three, The Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting, published localized pieces with the exclusive data. Other outlets published all or parts of the series either online or in print, including the Washington Post, ABC News, Yahoo News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Seattle Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, WKMG in Orlando, WPLG in Miami, NBC 10 in Philadelphia and many others. The Los Angeles Times published the Spanish-language version of all three stories online.