Dollar Store Access in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, MO-IL, USA

Abstract

Most food accessibility research focus on stores that sell healthy food such as grocery stores compared with stores that sell unhealthy food such as fast-food retailers. These studies overlook the fastest growing retail segment in the United States, dollar stores. Although dollar stores might not be known for their food items, their ubiquitous nature in our retail environment forces many to use dollar stores as their primary and often closest food source. This study evaluated dollar store access in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) based on count analysis and travel time along with demographic variables such as income and education. Results reveal that a majority of tracts in the St. Louis MSA do not have a dollar store, yet over half the residents of the MSA live within a five-minute drive of a dollar store. Rural residents live the farthest from a dollar store, with one population-weighted tract centroid traveling over twenty minutes to a dollar store. Demographic results reveal that dollar stores tend to locate in places with lower incomes, lower levels of education, and more diverse residents. The growth of dollar stores across the United States allows for residents to have easier access to goods, but concern exists regarding the healthiness of the food products served in these stores. Future research will include health data to determine if these stores could be contributing to the obesity and diabetes epidemics in the United States.