Walgreens store closures 2026 are continuing, but at a smaller scale than the company originally signaled. Walgreens now expects to shutter fewer than 100 locations this year, a steep drop from the roughly 700 closures once projected internally. That said, the list is still growing, and it now touches communities from Brooklyn to Seattle to Bogota, New Jersey.
What You Need to Know
- Walgreens expects to close fewer than 100 stores in 2026, down from earlier internal projections near 700.
- The chain has already closed locations across at least a dozen states, including Illinois, New York, Texas, and New Jersey.
- Two more New Jersey stores, in Bogota and Dumont, close by early September.
- Prescriptions automatically transfer to nearby Walgreens locations, with free delivery offered for 90 days after closure.
- The pace of closures has slowed sharply since Walgreens went private under Sycamore Partners in 2025.
Which Walgreens Locations Have Closed So Far in 2026
According to a running list compiled by Inc., confirmed 2026 closures include locations in California, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington state, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin. Illinois alone has lost four locations this year, including two in Chicago, reflecting a broader pattern where the company’s home state has seen some of the heaviest cuts. In Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood specifically, residents have pushed back against what they describe as the retreat of a longtime neighborhood fixture, following years of reduced hours before the eventual closure.
The closures are not limited to storefronts. Walgreens has also shut a roughly 500,000-square-foot distribution center in Houston, part of a broader consolidation of the company’s logistics network alongside the retail cuts.
Two More New Jersey Stores Are Closing Next
New Jersey is seeing fresh closures as well. A Walgreens pharmacy at 33 River Road in Bogota is set to close by August 6, while a second location at 406 E. Madison Avenue in Dumont will close by September 3. Both closures follow a familiar pattern for the chain: leases or performance metrics that no longer support keeping the store open.
A company spokesperson told NJBIZ that affected employees are being offered opportunities to continue working at other Walgreens locations, and that the company remains committed to serving nearby communities through prescription transfers and delivery. Prescriptions from the Bogota store will move automatically to a Walgreens on Cedar Lane in Teaneck, while Dumont prescriptions will shift to a location in Bergenfield. Patients affected by either closure are eligible for 90 days of free prescription delivery following the shutdown.
Within New Jersey specifically, Walgreens has reduced its footprint from more than 190 stores to around 180 over the past year, a smaller-scale version of the national trend.
Why Walgreens Is Still Closing Stores
The current closures trace back to a turnaround plan Walgreens first announced in 2024, when it said it would close roughly 1,200 underperforming stores over three years to build a smaller, more profitable footprint. The company’s ownership has changed since then. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners acquired Walgreens in a deal valued at $10 billion, and the retailer went private in August 2025.
That change in ownership appears to have slowed the pace of cuts rather than accelerated them. Walgreens’ national store count has dropped from about 8,600 to roughly 8,000 over the past year, and the company still operates more than 8,500 locations nationwide, keeping it the second-largest pharmacy chain in the country behind CVS. Executives have described the current approach as a “store optimization strategy” focused on concentrating resources in higher-performing locations, rather than a wholesale retreat from the pharmacy business.
The underlying financial pressure hasn’t gone away. Slimmer prescription drug reimbursement rates from insurers and pharmacy benefit managers continue to squeeze margins across the industry, and Walgreens has cited that pressure alongside softer retail sales, rising labor and rent costs, and growing competition from online pharmacy and delivery services. Individual closure decisions typically come down to a mix of expiring leases, underperforming sales, distribution consolidation, and, in some markets, theft or safety costs that make keeping a location open too expensive.
Walgreens isn’t alone in this. Rite Aid closed all of its remaining stores as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy wind-down, and CVS closed roughly 270 stores in 2025 on top of about 900 closures between 2022 and 2024. Broader retail tracking cited by industry outlets counts Walgreens among more than 1,400 stores across multiple chains, including Kroger and Macy’s, expected to close in 2026.
What This Means If Your Local Walgreens Is Closing
For most customers, the biggest concern is continuity of care, particularly for prescription medications. Walgreens’ standard process automatically transfers prescriptions to the nearest open location once a store closes, and the company has offered free delivery windows, typically around 90 days, to soften the transition for affected patients. Customers can confirm a transfer destination and check delivery options through the Walgreens store locator or by calling the company directly rather than waiting for a closure notice to arrive.
Anyone unsure whether their local store is affected can check status directly on Walgreens’ website, since the company has not published a single master closure list and instead posts notices on a rolling basis as decisions are finalized.
Broader Implications
Store closures like these are becoming a recurring storyline across retail and pharmacy chains as the industry adjusts to online competition and thinner margins, and it’s a trend worth watching alongside similar shifts in how other consumer-facing companies restructure their physical footprint. For more coverage of how major retailers and tech-adjacent companies are navigating operational change in 2026, visit The Tech Marketer.
What Happens Next
Walgreens has not published a complete, finalized list of every 2026 closure, and notices continue to appear on a rolling basis through the rest of the year. The company has indicated its closure pace will stay below 100 stores for 2026, a marked slowdown from the pace set under its prior ownership. This article will be updated as additional closures are confirmed.
Latest Updates
Inc.’s national closure list was last updated August 3, 2026, and is described as an ongoing tracker rather than a final total. NJBIZ’s report on the Bogota and Dumont closures was published August 3, 2026, with both closure dates confirmed directly by a Walgreens spokesperson. WDHA/Jersey Newsroom’s report on the Bogota closure specifically was published July 31, 2026, and cites North Jersey reporting on the broader financial pressures behind the decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many Walgreens stores are closing in 2026?
Walgreens expects to close fewer than 100 stores in 2026, down from earlier internal projections that had put the number closer to 700.
2. Why are so many Walgreens stores closing?
The closures stem from a multiyear turnaround plan targeting underperforming locations, driven by lower prescription reimbursement rates, rising costs, and growing competition from online pharmacy services.
3. What happens to my prescription if my Walgreens closes?
Prescriptions are automatically transferred to the nearest open Walgreens location. Affected customers are often eligible for a limited window, typically 90 days, of free prescription delivery.
4. Which states have had the most Walgreens store closures in 2026?
Confirmed 2026 closures span at least a dozen states, including Illinois, New York, Texas, New Jersey, California, and Washington, with Illinois seeing some of the heaviest cuts.
5. Is Walgreens still owned by the same company?
No. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners acquired Walgreens in a $10 billion deal, and the company went private in August 2025, which coincided with a slower pace of store closures.
Sources and References
- Amaya Nichole, “Walgreens Is Closing Stores: Updated List of Shuttered Locations for 2026,” Inc., August 3, 2026 — https://www.inc.com/amaya-nichole/walgreens-closing-stores-list-of-shuttered-locations-2026/91383263
- Kimberly Redmond, “Walgreens closing 2 more NJ stores,” NJBIZ, August 3, 2026 — https://njbiz.com/walgreens-closing-2-more-nj-stores/
- J. Mayhew, “Walgreens Pharmacy in Bogota To Shut Doors Next Week,” WDHA FM / Jersey Newsroom, July 31, 2026 — https://wdhafm.com/2026/07/31/walgreens-pharmacy-in-bogota-to-shut-doors-next-week/
