New HPC research finds the number of pharmacies has decreased by nearly 200 since 2019 (17.1%), with impacts on resident access
BOSTON — Today, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) released new research in the latest issue of the HPC DataPoints series, “When the Closest Pharmacy is Too Far: Mapping Pharmacy Deserts in Massachusetts.” The research identifies pharmacy deserts – communities without convenient access to a pharmacy and the medication and services they provide – across the state, as well as “near-deserts” – communities that are vulnerable to becoming pharmacy deserts.
Pharmacy closures, and the deserts they may create, occur amid complex and evolving dynamics in the pharmaceutical supply chain and in the wider retail economy, and can threaten access and exacerbate existing disparities.
Since 2019, the number of pharmacies in Massachusetts has decreased by nearly 200 (from 1,134 to 940), a 17.1% decline, with the largest relative decrease for grocery-based pharmacies and small chains and independent pharmacies.
These closures have significant impact on patient access. By the HPC’s definition, 8.3% of the Massachusetts population, about 580,000 people, currently live in a pharmacy desert. Another 7.5% of the population, about 525,000 people, lives in an area that would be a desert if the sole pharmacy in the area closed. In total, over one million Massachusetts residents, 15.8% of the Commonwealth, live in either a pharmacy desert or a “near-desert.”
The largest proportion of pharmacy deserts in the Commonwealth were in urban areas (47%), followed closely by suburban areas (43%). Since 2019, there was a net increase of 59 deserts, leading to about 90,000 additional people living without this necessary access.
The HPC assessed pharmacy access at the census block group level and defined pharmacy desert status based on how much of the block group was within a given distance from a pharmacy, with criteria for pharmacy proximity varying based on population density and access level. Block groups with less than 15% of their area within the specified proximity to a pharmacy were considered pharmacy deserts. “Near-deserts” were defined as a block group with access to only one pharmacy, such that the area would be a pharmacy desert if the sole pharmacy closed.
“Over half a million Massachusetts residents live in a pharmacy desert, and another half a million residents live in a community at risk of becoming a pharmacy desert. When pharmacies close, residents don’t just lose access to prescriptions – they also lose access to essential preventive services and trusted clinical guidance,” said David Seltz, HPC Executive Director. “Without access to this source of care, residents may turn to higher-cost care settings like emergency departments, which further burdens our health care workforce, drives up spending, and leads to worse health outcomes. It is imperative for the Commonwealth to increase and sustain pharmacy access, and the HPC plans to continue examining this trend in future analyses from the Office of Health Resource Planning and the Office of Pharmaceutical Policy and Analysis.”
Key Findings: Pharmacy Deserts in Massachusetts
- Since 2019, there has been a 17.1% decline in the number of pharmacies (from 1,134 to 940), with the largest relative decrease for grocery-based and small chains and independent pharmacies.
- 8.3% of the population in Massachusetts, about 580,000 people, currently lives in a pharmacy desert in 2025. 7.5% of the population, about 525,000 people live in a near-desert and combined, this puts more than 15% of the population in either a pharmacy desert or at risk of being in one.
- Over the entire 2016 to 2025 period, large pharmacy chains have lost the greatest number of pharmacies but remained at about 60% of all active retail pharmacies; mass-merchants lost the greatest proportion (a 45% decline), small chains/independents and grocery-based lost about 20% each, and provider-based pharmacies had the greatest growth (a 73% increase).
- Nearly 370 pharmacies have closed in Massachusetts since 2018, while another 140 have opened. Notably, 2024-2025 saw the smallest number of openings and largest number of closures during the study period.
- The largest proportion of pharmacy deserts were in urban areas of the state (47%), followed closely by suburban areas (43%).
- Many of the newly created pharmacy deserts were in some of the state’s largest cities, such as Springfield (6), Boston (5), New Bedford (5), and Worcester (6).
- Overall, pharmacy deserts tended to be in neighborhoods with lower population density and a somewhat higher proportion of residents over the age of 65 years old. Urban and rural areas had slightly larger shares of block groups that were pharmacy deserts: 9% of urban and of rural block groups were deserts, compared to 8% of suburban block groups. In urban areas, 20% of block groups were in deserts or near deserts, compared to 15% of rural block groups and 14% of suburban areas.
Explore interactive pharmacy desert maps and data in the DataPoints issue, and presentation materials from the October 23, 2025 HPC Board meeting.
