The company, based in Matthews (a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina), went public in 1970. Growth continued into the mid-1980s and, after a slight slump in the late 1980s, continued into the 21st century.
Family Dollar fended off hostile takeover attempts from its primary rival, Dollar General Stores, during 2014. Eventually, a merger was worked out with Virginia-based Dollar Tree. The deal closed in July 2015, with Family Dollar becoming a Dollar Tree subsidiary. The Family Dollar "HQ" was moved to Chesapeake, Virginia. As of December 2025, there were over 7,000 Family Dollar stores in operation in forty-eight states.
An early Family Dollar store is seen above, where everything was sold for under 3 dollars.
Photo from https://www.familydollar.com
A 21st century view of a Charlotte, North Carolina unit and its crew. In 2026, only Alaska and Hawaii had no Family Dollar stores.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Jml0519"
