96% of the US population lives within 20 miles of a Walmart.

Walmart is the Arkansas based big box retailer that needs little introduction. In 2008, Walmart earned 400 billion dollars and had a combined floor space larger than Manhattan. If Walmart were a country, it would be the world’s 26th largest economy, just behind Austria. 

1.4 million Americans work at Walmart, making it the second largest private employer in the US, just behind the federal government. Though Walmart had a degree of trouble in the years following the 2008 recession, it still remains one of the most powerful, burgeoning businesses in existence.

It was a study by Matthew Zook and Mark Graham, geographers at the University of Kentucky, who confirmed the percentage of Americans who live near the almost 3,400 Walmart stores. 

60 percent lives within 5 miles of a Walmart, and 96 percent are within 20 miles. It really is quite amazing (and a little scary) to consider just how much Walmart is growing, and how fast it continues to grow. 

(Source)