Maps Don’t Lie: Inequities in Raleigh’s Grocery Scene

Posted byPhil VeasleyPosted inPlanning

In this new series, we’ll be exploring various things that stand out to me when browsing maps.

Raleigh’s grocery scene is a competitive one that is dominated by Harris Teeter, Food Lion and Walmart. But the distribution of certain stores leaves a lot to be desired.

Credit: Axios Raleigh – https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2022/04/25/grocery-store-wars-raleigh

I’ve broken the area grocery stores into four categories and also added dollar stores and ABC stores for comparison sake. Wake County’s entire boundary was used to capture a wider range of residents.

It’s important to understand some of the demographics at play within the County via https://bestneighborhood.org/.

In short, areas South and East of Downtown Raleigh see the higher rates of Black and Hispanic Populations while also seeing lower household income values. Portions of West Cary and Morrisville also are home to a large influent Indian population.

Also of note is that Eastern Wake County has seen much lower rates of density and development until recently when compared to the rest of the county due to proximity to RTP and the rest of the Triangle.

Taking a look by grocery tier paints a familiar picture. Maps created via GoogleMyMaps.

Google My Maps

Tier 1

  • Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sprouts, Weaver Street Market, The Fresh Market, Wegmans
GoogleMyMaps

Tier 2

  • Harris Teeter
GoogleMyMaps

Tier 3

  • Target (Super only), Publix, Lowe’s Foods, Lidl, Aldi, SamsClub, BJ’s, Costco, Walmart Neighborhood Market
GoogleMyMaps

Tier 4

  • Food Lion, Carlie C’s, Walmart (SuperCenters only)
GoogleMyMaps

Dollar Stores

  • Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General
GoogleMyMaps

ABC Stores

GoogleMyMaps

Takeaways

  • There are NO Tier 1 or Harris Teeter’s in the Eastern end of the County. Out of 16 Tier 1 grocery stores and 35 Harris Teeter’s there is not even one who has taken the chance on Eastern Wake. While it’s understandable that these stores have their metrics and demographical analysis they go by this is inexcusable. While not as affluent as the rest of the County there are pockets of decent density and loads of middle income neighborhoods on this end of the County. Harris Teeter in particular sticks out as a flagrant example. They claim to be the Triangle’s grocer of choice but are leaving a whole half of the market out to dry.
GoogleMyMaps
  • Publix has come into the market and instantly spread pretty equitably throughout the County. They also have a few more stores planned for NE Raleigh and Garner which are places Harris Teeter has ignored.
GoogleMyMaps
  • Tier 3 stores see the most equitable spread.
  • Food Lions are everywhere in NE Raleigh and Eastern Wake County.
  • Dollar stores are basically an opposite image of Tier 1s and Harris Teeters.
  • ABC Stores see pretty even spread.

What maps would y’all like me to explore next?

For more photos, ideas, and insights on Raleigh visit https://philveasley.com/raleigh/

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Phil Veasley is a registered Professional Engineer in NC and GA. Opinions and insights are my own and are not representative of my employer or any organization. Any ideas displayed on this site are purely that – just ideas to help improve the future of the built environment and begin discussions.

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