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Comic book stores by the numbers, 2026
2,530 comic book stores in 50 states and DC, spread over 1,627 cities, with 676,549 Google reviews between them. Here is where they are, what they offer, when they open and how many buy collections. Writers and researchers are welcome to use these numbers with a link to this page.
Key findings
- New Hampshire has the most comic shops per person: 1.35 per 100,000 residents. Mississippi has the fewest, at 0.24. The US as a whole has 0.74.
- Back issues are the most common specialty: reviews or websites show them at 1,448 shops (57%).
- 95% of shops with posted hours open on Wednesday, new comic book day. 74% open on Sunday.
- 235 shops (9.3%) are shown to buy comic collections. New York has the most, with 27.
- 162 of the 342 US cities with 100,000+ residents have one comic shop or none listed inside city limits.
- Shops average 4.63 stars on Google. 83% are rated 4.5 or higher.
The short version
| Comic shops listed | 2,530 |
| States with a listed shop | 50 + DC |
| Cities with a listed shop | 1,627 |
| Shops per 100,000 residents (US) | 0.74 |
| Residents per shop (US) | 134,000 |
| Google reviews, all shops | 676,549 |
| Average Google rating | 4.63 |
| Median Google rating | 4.7 |
| Shops that buy collections | 235 (9.3%) |
| Filed by Google as a comic book store | 2,362 |
Comic shops per 100,000 residents, by state
The top 15. Population is the US Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 population estimates (July 1, 2024).
| # | State | Shops | Population | Per 100k | Residents per shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | 19 | 1,409,032 | 1.35 | 74,200 |
| 2 | North Dakota | 9 | 796,568 | 1.13 | 88,500 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 12 | 1,112,308 | 1.08 | 92,700 |
| 4 | Missouri | 65 | 6,245,466 | 1.04 | 96,100 |
| 5 | Wyoming | 6 | 587,618 | 1.02 | 97,900 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 129 | 13,078,751 | 0.99 | 101,400 |
| 7 | Indiana | 67 | 6,924,275 | 0.97 | 103,300 |
| 8 | South Dakota | 9 | 924,669 | 0.97 | 102,700 |
| 9 | Illinois | 122 | 12,710,158 | 0.96 | 104,200 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 19 | 2,005,465 | 0.95 | 105,600 |
| 11 | Ohio | 111 | 11,883,304 | 0.93 | 107,100 |
| 12 | Maine | 13 | 1,405,012 | 0.93 | 108,100 |
| 13 | Nevada | 30 | 3,267,467 | 0.92 | 108,900 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 66 | 7,227,750 | 0.91 | 109,500 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | 65 | 7,136,171 | 0.91 | 109,800 |
What comic shops offer
Share of all 2,530 listed shops whose customer reviews or own website show each specialty. These are floors: a shop counts only when the proof is there, so some shops that offer a specialty are not counted.
| Specialty | Shops | Share of all shops | State with the most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back issues | 1,448 | California | |
| Pull lists | 601 | California | |
| Manga | 552 | California | |
| Free Comic Book Day | 401 | California | |
| Vintage & key issues | 286 | California | |
| Signings & creator events | 224 | California | |
| Indie & small press | 209 | California | |
| Grading & pressing help | 82 | Illinois | |
| Buys collections | 235 | New York |
Open on new comic book day
Wednesday is traditionally new comic book day in the US. Of the 2,395 shops with hours on their Google listing:
Ratings and reviews
| Shops with a Google rating | 2,460 |
| Average rating | 4.63 |
| Median rating | 4.7 |
| Rated 4.5 or higher | 83.2% |
| Rated below 4.0 | 3.4% |
| Google reviews, all shops | 676,549 |
Shops that buy comic collections
235 listed shops (9.3%) are shown to buy comics from customers. For 196 the proof is the shop's own website, for 32 it is customers' reviews describing a sale, and for 7 it is both. Other shops may buy too; these are the ones with public proof.
See the states and cities with the most buyers or find a shop that buys comics.
Big cities with few comic shops
Of the 342 incorporated US cities with 100,000 or more residents, 70 have no shop listed inside city limits and 92 have one. The largest with none: Santa Ana, CA; Jersey City, NJ; McKinney, TX; San Bernardino, CA; and Fontana, CA. Shops in nearby suburbs are not counted, so the nearest shop may be a short drive away.
More data
Comic capitals
The cities and states with the most comic shops per person, plus the cities with the most shops overall.
Underserved cities
US cities of 100,000+ residents with one comic shop or none listed inside city limits.
Where to sell comics
The states and cities with the most shops shown to buy comic collections.
Download the data
Free CSV files, updated with the directory. Use them with a link to this page as the source (comicbookstores.net, data as of 2026-11-08).
How we count
Where the shops come from
We searched Google Maps for comic book stores in cities across all 50 states and DC, then checked each listing. A shop is listed only when Google files it as a comic book store and its name, customer reviews, description or own website back that up. A store Google files as something else (a bookstore, toy store, hobby, collectibles or antique store) needs stronger proof, such as comics in its name plus reviews that talk about comics, or many reviews about comics plus its own website.
What we leave out
Big multi-category chains are not counted as comic shops, even when they stock comics: Books-A-Million, 2nd & Charles, Barnes & Noble, Half Price Books and Hot Topic, and used-media chains such as Vintage Stock, Movie Trading Company and Bookmans. Comic conventions and shows are left out too. A comic shop that runs its own counter or booth inside a mall or antique mall counts when it has its own Google listing; the antique mall itself does not.
Specialties, buyers, hours and ratings
A shop counts for a specialty (pull lists, back issues, manga and so on) when its customer reviews mention it or its own website says it. It counts as a buyer when customers' reviews describe selling their comics there or its website says it buys. Each shop's listing shows that proof. Hours, ratings and review counts come from the shop's Google listing when we collected the data.
Population and cities
Population figures are the US Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 population estimates (July 1, 2024), for states and incorporated places. A shop belongs to the city in its mailing address, which is not always the city it sits in: shops in a suburb count for the suburb, and some big-city neighborhoods have their own postal names (Van Nuys and Northridge are part of Los Angeles, for example). Per-capita numbers count only shops in this directory, so a place may have more shops than we list.
Date and corrections
Data as of 2026-11-08. Know a shop we missed or one that has closed? Email hello@comicbookstores.net.