Pharmacy chain Rite Aid officially closed all of its stores across the United States after a second bankruptcy filing. In a statement on its website, the company said, “All Rite Aid stores have now closed. We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support.”
The major pharmacy and retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2025. This marked the second such filing, the first occurring in October 2023.
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Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a legal process that allows a company to reorganize its debts in an effort to stay operational. However Rite Aid announced in the second filing that it would close all of its stores, a sign that the company is no longer trying to recover or continue operating.
Closures worsen expanding pharmacy deserts
The closures come as “pharmacy deserts” expand across the country. According to an August 2025 study published by the JAMA Network, a significant portion of the U.S. population has limited access to pharmacies, particularly in rural areas.
The study defines a pharmacy desert as an area where it takes longer to get to a pharmacy than it typically takes to get to a supermarket, based on what is normal for that region.
Researchers found that 17.7% of people in the U.S. live in pharmacy deserts, and 8.9% depend on just one pharmacy in their area. People in small rural communities are especially vulnerable because they often rely on a single “keystone” pharmacy to meet their medication needs.
In 2022, Rite Aid operated 2,451 stores. By September 2025, that number had dropped to just 89, according to data from ScrapeHero. Most remaining locations were in Washington state, which had 28 stores.
Closures affect vulnerable populations
Rite Aid is not alone in cutting its locations. Last year, Walgreens announced it would close approximately 1,200 locations nationwide. CVS said earlier this year it would be shuttering 270 stores in 2025.
As more pharmacies shut down, fewer people have convenient access to the medications they need. This situation doesn’t affect everyone equally as some communities are hit harder than others. The impact is worse for specific groups, like low-income neighborhoods, elderly individuals, people without reliable transportation and minority communities.
Straight Arrow News’ Ray Bogan and Brent Jabbour completed a three-part series titled The Demise of American Pharmacies, exploring the challenges American pharmacies face and how these struggles impact people’s ability to access health care. You can read and watch the series at the links below:
Part 1: The demise of pharmacies: How ‘bloated’ chains limit health care access
Part 2: The demise of American pharmacies: How middlemen put ‘kerosene on the fire’
Part 3: The demise of American pharmacies: The impact of pharmacy deserts
