We Analyzed 6,568 Licensed Dispensaries Across the US. Here's What the Data Shows

Every week we publish news and guides about the cannabis industry. This week, we decided to turn the lens on ourselves: our own directory tracks licensed dispensaries, strains, and cities across the United States. So we pulled the numbers and let the data do the talking.

The headline numbers

As of August 2026, the BuyWeed.us directory tracks:

• 6,568 licensed dispensaries across the country
• 9,563 cannabis strains with effects and flavor data
• 2,351 cities with at least one dispensary
• 2,822 active deals from participating stores

California leads, but not by as much as you'd think

California tops the list with 803 tracked dispensaries — but the gap to the rest of the country is closer than the state's reputation suggests. Oklahoma (551), Florida (516), and Michigan (503) all clear the 500-store mark, with Colorado (446) and New York (424) close behind.

The full top ten: California (803), Oklahoma (551), Florida (516), Michigan (503), Colorado (446), New York (424), Maine (305), New Mexico (270), Oregon (249), and Washington (248).

What's striking is how many of these states legalized relatively recently. Oklahoma and Missouri built massive retail footprints in a few short years after their ballot measures passed — a reminder that retail density follows regulatory speed, not just market size.

Where the legal market isn't

The data also shows where legal weed still isn't available: 7 states have no legal access at all, and 1 more has only limited decriminalization. For anyone living in those states, our state-by-state guides lay out exactly what the law says and what the options are.

Blue Dream is still the most-reviewed strain in America

Our strain database shows Blue Dream far ahead of every other variety, with more than 24,000 reported reviews and a 4.7-star rating. Pineapple Express (11,000+ reviews), Wedding Cake (10,900+), Cereal Milk (9,300+), and OG Kush (8,700+) round out the top five — a mix of classic West Coast genetics and newer dessert strains that have taken over menus in the last few years.

What's notable is consistency: all five sit at 4.7 stars. The strains people actually buy are the ones they keep coming back to.

Why this matters

These numbers are useful beyond trivia. If you're opening a dispensary, the top-ten states show where the infrastructure (and the competition) already is. If you're a consumer, they show where your options are deepest — and where they aren't. And if you're watching the industry, the mix of new and old states on the list is a decent proxy for where the next wave of growth is coming from.

We'll keep updating this data as the directory grows. In the meantime, you can explore every one of these dispensaries yourself through our directory, compare strains in our database, and check the legal status of any state with our guides.