Metro by metro
The leading hardware store chains in every North Carolina metro area
Tracked hardware store chains ranked by consumer spend in each metro area, Q4 2025–Q3 2026. Harbor Freight Tools leads in 9 metro areas, Ace Hardware in 1 metro area. Against their share in North Carolina as a whole, Ace Hardware stands out in 6 metro areas, Harbor Freight Tools in 2 metro areas.
By tracked consumer spend, Q4 2025–Q3 2026
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Ace Hardware
Relative #1 in 6 metro areas
Raleigh-Cary, NC 1.4× · Winston-Salem, NC 1.5× · Greensboro-High Point, NC 1.1× · Wilmington, NC 1.5× · Asheville, NC 2.9× · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 1.5×
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Harbor Freight Tools
Relative #1 in 2 metro areas
Charlotte, NC (NC part) 0.9× · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 0.7×
Not enough tracked stores: Burlington, NC · Goldsboro, NC · Greenville, NC · Jacksonville, NC · Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC · Virginia Beach, VA (NC part)
No ranked chain with 5% of the metro area's spend and 3 stores there: Fayetteville, NC · Rocky Mount, NC
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Harbor Freight Tools
#1 in 9 metro areas
Charlotte, NC (NC part) · Raleigh-Cary, NC · Winston-Salem, NC · Greensboro-High Point, NC · Wilmington, NC · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC · Fayetteville, NC · Rocky Mount, NC
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Ace Hardware
#1 in Asheville, NC
Not enough tracked stores: Burlington, NC · Goldsboro, NC · Greenville, NC · Jacksonville, NC · Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC · Virginia Beach, VA (NC part)
A metro area shows a ranking once it has at least 2 tracked hardware store chains and 10 tracked stores. Relative to North Carolina compares a chain's share of the metro area's spend with its share in North Carolina as a whole. It ranks the 7 biggest chains in North Carolina and the chains that lead a metro area by spend, wherever a chain has at least 5% of the metro area's spend and 3 stores there. Metro areas are the Census Bureau's metropolitan statistical areas; the rest of North Carolina is light gray. A metro area crossing the state line counts only its stores in North Carolina. Colors match the store map; other tracked chains are gray.
Growth ranking
Fastest-growing tracked hardware store chains
Ranked by year-over-year growth of share of tracked local spend. Arrows show movement in the rankings since last year. Each dot in the chart is one tracked chain: bigger market position to the right, faster growth higher up, more tracked stores in a bigger dot. Colors match the store map below. Ihrie Supply Company and Harbor Freight Tools sit in the high-growth half.
| Rank | Chain | Rank movement | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ihrie Supply Company | - | +14.8% |
| 2 | Harbor Freight Tools | - | +7.2% |
| 3 | Ace Hardware | - | +2.5% |
| 4 | Kellogg Supply Company | - | -13.6% |
| 5 | True Value | - | -22.0% |
| 6 | Garris Evans Lumber Company | - | -24.5% |
| 7 | Hometown Hardware | ▲2 | -36.9% |
| 8 | Direct Tools Factory Outlet | ▲1 | -49.8% |
| 9 | Arc3 Gases | - | -52.1% |
| 10 | Town & Country Hardware | ▼3 | -74.4% |
- Harbor Freight Tools
- Ace Hardware
- Blackhawk Hardware
- Kellogg Supply Company
- Ihrie Supply Company
- Taylor's Do it Center
- Buffalo Shoals Supermarket & Hardware
- Other tracked chains
Store footprint
Store map
524 tracked store locations in North Carolina. The 7 largest tracked chains are highlighted. The top 5 chains by store count run 168 of the 524 stores (32%); 311 of the 333 tracked chains have a single store here. 4% of the tracked retail stores here are hardware stores, the same share as across the United States.
- Harbor Freight Tools (67)
- Ace Hardware (72)
- Blackhawk Hardware (1)
- Kellogg Supply Company (5)
- Ihrie Supply Company (6)
- Taylor's Do it Center (1)
- Buffalo Shoals Supermarket & Hardware (1)
- Other tracked chains
Top tracked chains by store count
- 1 Ace Hardware 72
- 2 Harbor Freight Tools 67
- 3 Arc3 Gases 12
- 4 True Value 11
- 5 Ihrie Supply Company 6
- 6 Kellogg Supply Company 5
- 7 Garris Evans Lumber Company 4
- 8 Hometown Hardware 3
- 9 Direct Tools Factory Outlet 3
- 10 Town & Country Hardware 3
- 11 Rockler Woodworking and Hardware 2
- 12 Mountain View Hardware 2
- 13 Klingspor's Woodworking Shop 2
- 14 Woodcraft 2
- 15 ProSource Plumbing Supply 2
- 16 Clay's Power Equipment 2
- 17 Aarons Supply Inc 2
- 18 Westlake Ace Hardware 2
- 19 Mills International Inc 1
- 20 Burney True Value Hardware of Seven Lakes 1
- 21 Longley Supply Co 1
- 22 J&W Tools 1
- 23 Lewis-Brady Builders Supply 1
- 24 Ledger Hardware 1
- 25 Broadway Hardware 1
- 26 Longley Supply Company 1
- 27 Beeson Hardware Co 1
- 28 Power Mower and Saw 1
- 29 Burke Brothers Hardware 1
- 30 Carolina Supply Inc 1
- 31 Sawmills Hardware and Supply 1
- 32 Simpson Brothers Inc 1
- 33 Advanced Power Products 1
- 34 Granite Hardware LLC 1
- 35 Carolina Supply 1
- 36 Carolina Saw Mill & Service 1
- 37 LKN Small Engine, LLC 1
- 38 DEWALT Service Center 1
- 39 Knob Hardware and Tools Store 1
- 40 East Carolina Supply 1
- 41 Hudson's Hardware & Outdoor Equipment 1
- 42 Main Street Hardware 1
- 43 Scott's Landscaping, Nursery, and Farms 1
- 44 Taylorsville Ace Hardware 1
- 45 Eddie Harrell Auto and Sports Store 1
- 46 Parker Tie Company 1
- 47 Otway Hardware Inc 1
- 48 McLamb's LP Gas & Supply 1
- 49 Wilson Carter Supply 1
- 50 Lake Norman Tools Outlet 1
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