You walk down the street to grab a bottle of Tylenol and a birthday card, and—bam—the windows are boarded up. It’s a scene playing out in suburbs and city centers across the country. If you’ve seen the "Store Closing" signs or the viral TikToks of empty shelves, you've probably wondered: are all CVS stores closing for good?
The short answer is no. Not even close. But the long answer is a bit more complicated and, honestly, a little stressful if you rely on them for your monthly prescriptions.
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CVS isn't going out of business, but they are in the middle of a massive, multi-year "optimization" plan that has permanently shuttered hundreds of locations. We aren't just talking about a few underperforming shops in the middle of nowhere. We're talking about a fundamental shift in how one of the biggest healthcare companies in the world wants to interact with you.
The Numbers: How Many CVS Stores Are Actually Closing?
Between 2022 and 2024, CVS executed a plan to close roughly 900 stores. That was the first big wave. Now that we’ve rolled into 2025 and 2026, the pruning continues.
CVS confirmed that they are closing an additional 270 to 271 stores throughout 2025. By the time we hit the end of 2026, the "neighborhood CVS" landscape will look drastically different than it did five years ago.
- Total footprint: Even with these closures, CVS still operates over 9,000 locations.
- The 2025/2026 Wave: The current 270+ closures are part of a broader "enterprise-wide restructuring" meant to save the company about $2 billion.
- Target partnership: Interestingly, while standalone stores are closing, many CVS pharmacies inside Target locations are staying put (though even some of those have seen "realignments").
It's easy to get spooked when your local spot disappears, but for every three stores that close, CVS claims that 85% of Americans still live within 10 miles of another location. That’s cold comfort if you don’t have a car, but from a corporate spreadsheet perspective, it’s "optimization."
Why Your Local CVS Might Be Disappearing
Why is this happening now? It’s not just one thing. It’s a perfect storm of bad retail vibes and shifting healthcare math.
Basically, the "front of the store"—the part where you buy chips, soda, and overpriced seasonal decor—is struggling. Inflation has made people pickier. Why buy a $7 gallon of milk at CVS when you can get it for $3.50 at Aldi or Walmart?
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Then there's the "shrink" problem. You've probably seen the videos of entire aisles locked behind plexiglass. Retail theft, both organized and petty, has hit drugstores hard. When a store spends more on security guards and plexiglass than it makes in profit from shampoo sales, the corporate office in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, starts looking for the "exit" button.
The PBM Squeeze
This is the nerdy part most people miss. CVS doesn’t just own drugstores; they own Aetna (insurance) and Caremark (a Pharmacy Benefit Manager, or PBM).
PBMs are the middlemen who decide how much a pharmacy gets paid for a drug. Paradoxically, retail pharmacies—including CVS's own stores—are getting squeezed by lower reimbursement rates. Sometimes, a pharmacy actually loses money on a prescription because the insurance company doesn't pay them enough to cover the cost of the drug and the pharmacist's time.
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If a store isn't making money on the prescriptions and people aren't buying the expensive snacks in the front, there’s no reason for it to exist.
What the 2026 Strategy Looks Like
CVS is trying to transition from being a "drugstore" to a "healthcare destination." That sounds like corporate-speak, but here’s what it looks like in reality:
- Primary Care Focus: They bought Oak Street Health and Signify Health. They want you to go to CVS for a doctor's appointment, not just a flu shot.
- HealthHubs: These are stores with more clinic space and fewer aisles of greeting cards.
- Digital-First: They want you using the app for everything. Mail-order prescriptions are way cheaper for them to manage than maintaining a physical building with a leaky roof and high property taxes.
- Small-Format Stores: In some areas, they are opening tiny, 5,000-square-foot "pharmacy-only" locations. No frozen pizza, no toys, just the meds.
Are All CVS Stores Closing in Specific States?
No state is losing all its stores, but some areas are getting hit way harder than others. California, New York, and Illinois have seen some of the most aggressive closures.
In San Francisco and D.C., the combination of high rent and high theft rates has made certain locations "un-runnable" in the eyes of management. If you live in a dense urban area where there were three CVS stores within six blocks, you can almost guarantee at least one of them is gone or going soon.
What You Should Do If Your Store Closes
If you get that dreaded letter saying your local branch is shutting down, don't panic.
- Prescription Transfer: Usually, CVS will automatically move your prescriptions to the next nearest CVS. You don't actually have to do anything, but it’s a good idea to call and confirm.
- Shop Around: This might be the perfect time to look at a local independent pharmacy. Often, they have better service and shorter wait times.
- The Target Hack: Check if there is a CVS inside a nearby Target. These are often more stable than the standalone 24-hour locations.
- Mail Order: If you have Aetna or Caremark, they’ll probably push you toward their mail-order service. It’s convenient, though it does mean you lose that face-to-face time with a pharmacist.
The bottom line? CVS isn't dying; it's just shedding its skin. The days of the massive, 24-hour convenience store on every corner are fading. What's replacing them is a more clinical, more digital, and—let's be honest—slightly less convenient version of healthcare.
Check the CVS store locator on their official site or app once a month. In 2026, "open" is no longer a permanent status for any retail building. Be proactive about your refills so you aren't caught staring at a "For Lease" sign when you need your meds the most.