Which Walmart locations closed in 2024 and what reasons did the company give for each closure?
Executive summary
Walmart closed a series of brick‑and‑mortar locations in 2024 that, by multiple reporters’ counts, totaled about 11 standalone stores nationwide while the company separately exited its 51 health centers after deeming that business unsustainable (Business Insider; MassLive; AS USA) [1][2][3]. Company statements and reporting frame the closures as the result of store underperformance identified through a formal review — with executives citing historic and current financial metrics, operational costs, lease considerations and, in some reporting, elevated theft — while media outlets point to broader retail trends driving the decisions [4][5][6].
1. The scope: how many and what kinds of closures happened in 2024
Journalists tracking the chain reported roughly 11 Walmart stores closed in calendar 2024 across multiple states, and separately Walmart announced it would close all 51 of its health centers after concluding the health‑clinic model wasn’t sustainable for the company [1][2][3]. Publications that compiled lists noted closures were concentrated in metropolitan and suburban markets — including several Neighborhood Market formats — rather than rural locations, and that the total number of closed retail stores in 2024 followed a broader trend of elevated retail shutdowns that year [5][3].
2. Where the reported store closures took place (what is verifiable in reporting)
Reporting named several specific closures and clusters: Business Insider and other outlets documented Neighborhood Markets and supercenters closed in California, Colorado (Aurora), Wisconsin (Milwaukee), Maryland, Ohio and multiple locations in and around Atlanta/Chicago in various writeups, with California repeatedly singled out for a disproportionate share of cuts [1][5][7]. Media compilations also listed named California closures including Imperial Avenue in San Diego and sites in El Cajon, West Covina and Granite Bay, though no single public source in the reporting provides a fully consolidated, independently verified master list in the materials provided here [7][5][8].
3. What Walmart said: official reasons the company gave
Walmart described the decisions as the product of a “thorough review process” in which stores that “consistently underperform” against internal thresholds are identified for closure, with statements emphasizing historic and current financial performance as a guiding metric and noting that decisions aren’t made lightly [4]. For the health centers, Walmart said explicitly there was “not a sustainable business model” to continue those clinics [9][3]. Company comments also framed closures as part of a larger strategy that includes new store builds, remodels and conversions elsewhere [1][7].
4. Reported contributing factors beyond Walmart’s official line
Journalists and analysts layered additional explanations on top of Walmart’s performance framing: rising operational costs, difficult lease renewals, dwindling foot traffic tied to online shopping shifts, and in some pieces organized retail theft or higher shrink rates were invoked as material pressures prompting closures [5][6][9]. Coverage also places Walmart’s actions in the context of a retail wave of closures and bankruptcies in 2024, suggesting macroeconomic and competitive stressors amplified the company’s site‑level financial thresholds [3].
5. Caveats, competing narratives and hidden incentives in the reporting
Available reporting leans on company statements, state layoff filings and aggregated lists compiled by outlets; that leaves gaps and potential bias: Walmart has an incentive to frame closures as surgical, performance‑based choices while media aggregators may emphasize geographic clusters that attract reader interest (e.g., California, Chicago) [1][5]. Several outlets cite theft and operational strain; Walmart’s official language focuses on performance thresholds, not theft, creating room for divergent emphases across sources [6][4]. No single source provided here offers an exhaustively verified, line‑by‑line public ledger of every 2024 closure with Walmart’s contemporaneous statements for each site, so some specifics remain compiled from disparate reports [1][7].