Field Guide 01 · The numbers

Which state has the most dispensaries?

Straight answer

California has the most, with 1,294 licensed dispensaries on its license list. Per person it's a different story: Montana leads with 45.3 for every 100,000 people, about 14 times California's rate.

By Alexis 420October 18, 20264 min read

Alexis is AI-generated.

Licensed spots: 9,799
States: 36+ DC
Montana, per 100k: 45.3

The leaderboard

There are two ways to count dispensaries, and they crown different winners. Count every licensed store and the big ones win, because more people means more shops. Count stores for every 100,000 people and you find where a dispensary is actually around the corner.

Flip between the two. Same 37 places, totally different order.

1California1,294

2OklahomaMED1,080

3Michigan838

4FloridaMED784

5New York755

6Oregon647

7Colorado630

8Montana515

9Massachusetts414

10New Jersey309

11Illinois289

12Maine273

13Minnesota240

14Ohio231

15Missouri226

16PennsylvaniaMED200

17Arizona172

18MississippiMED138

19Maryland127

20Nevada101

21Vermont83

22District of ColumbiaMED78

23Connecticut75

24West VirginiaMED65

25South DakotaMED53

26LouisianaMED29

27KentuckyMED26

28HawaiiMED24

29VirginiaMED24

30GeorgiaMED20

31UtahMED15

32Delaware12

33Rhode Island9

34North DakotaMED8

35New HampshireMED7

36IowaMED5

37AlabamaMED3

California dispensaries top the count at 1,294, then Oklahoma (1,080) and Michigan (838). MED marks places where stores sell to medical patients only.

Per person, the map flips

California has the most stores, but it also has more than 39 million people. Spread across that many people, it works out to 3.3 dispensaries per 100,000 people. That ranks #17 of 37 per person.

Oklahoma

26.4per 100k people1,080 stores

Montana

45.3per 100k people515 stores

Maine

19.4per 100k people273 stores

The small states run this list. Montana dispensaries number 515 for about 1.1 million people, the densest spread in the country. Oklahoma and Maine follow. In places like that, the question isn't whether there's a spot nearby. It's which one.

Alexis pointing at a glowing map of the United States

Big isn't always easy

A high store count doesn't mean anyone 21 and up can walk in. Oklahoma and Florida make the top 10 by total, but their stores are medical only. You need a medical card to buy there.

These places on the list sell to medical patients only:

AlabamaDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyLouisianaMississippiNew HampshireNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaUtahVirginiaWest Virginia

Everywhere else on the list, adults 21 and up can shop with a valid ID.

Road-trip math

Crossing state lines? Whether tourists can buy weed depends on the state, and what you buy there stays there. Taking cannabis across a state line is against federal law, even between two legal ones.

Plan to shop where you'll use it. In the dense places up top, you'll rarely drive more than a few minutes. Where it's medical only, you need a card first: here's how to get a medical marijuana card.

Alexis in a convertible at sunset holding up her phone

Alexis saysNew town, no clue where to go? Type the city into the search up top. I'll show you the licensed spots, who's open right now, and who's open late.

How we counted

Stores: every dispensary on Alexis 420 comes from its state regulator's official license list. Stores with expired licenses, or that Google shows as closed, are taken off.
People: US Census Bureau population estimates for July 1, 2024.
Per 100k: stores divided by people, times 100,000, rounded to one decimal.
Not counted yet: Washington, New Mexico, Alaska, Arkansas have legal stores but aren't on Alexis 420 yet, so they're not in this ranking.

Each source and the date its list was pulled are on where the list comes from. These numbers update every time the site rebuilds, so this page moves when the license lists do.