Why does a gas station carry a license note?

Gas stations need fuel, environmental and often tobacco or alcohol permits, and zoning can limit new stations. A thin count may reflect those limits.

Why doesn't population tell the whole story?

Drivers buy fuel where they pass, not where they live. A ZIP with few residents on a busy highway may support stations that a large residential ZIP can't.

What's worth checking when buying a gas station?

Fuel supply contracts, the condition of underground tanks and environmental records, in-store sales, and whether permits transfer to a new owner.

Where gas stations may be underserved

Estimate only, not proof of demand.

Gas stations live on traffic counts and access, so the corner and the commuting pattern matter as much as the neighborhood's population. Many earn much of their margin inside the store rather than at the pump. This map shows ZIP codes where gas stations may be underserved.

This needs a license that may be limited or unavailable in some towns, so a gap may mean it isn't allowed there.

Open the full gap map Browse businesses for sale, free

1 per 2,265U.S. average people per gas station
13,362ZIPs with at least 5,000 residents
492of them with none mapped

Top ZIPs where gas stations may be underserved

People per business divides residents by the gas stations mapped in a ZIP; a high number may hint at room, but highway traffic and commuters often matter more than who lives there.

Top 25 ZIPs by people per business, ZIPs with at least 5,000 residents
#	ZIP	Place	Population	Mapped	People per business	Nearest	Links
1	10025	New York, NY	93,065	1	1 per 93,065 · 41.1× U.S.	0.3 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
2	11375	Forest Hills, NY	76,839	1	1 per 76,839 · 33.9× U.S.	1 mi	Businesses for sale in Forest Hills →View on the map →
3	11213	Brooklyn, NY	68,846	1	1 per 68,846 · 30.4× U.S.	0.5 mi	Businesses for sale in Brooklyn →View on the map →
4	10031	New York, NY	61,058	1	1 per 61,058 · 27.0× U.S.	0.5 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
5	10009	New York, NY	60,209	1	1 per 60,209 · 26.6× U.S.	0.4 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
6	94582	San Ramon, CA	47,424	1	1 per 47,424 · 20.9× U.S.	0.7 mi	Businesses for sale in CA →View on the map →
7	90057	Los Angeles, CA	46,629	1	1 per 46,629 · 20.6× U.S.	0.4 mi	Businesses for sale in Los Angeles →View on the map →
8	11221	Brooklyn, NY	91,588	2	1 per 45,794 · 20.2× U.S.	0.5 mi	Businesses for sale in Brooklyn →View on the map →
9	10019	New York, NY	44,942	1	1 per 44,942 · 19.8× U.S.	0.4 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
10	11421	Woodhaven, NY	40,612	1	1 per 40,612 · 17.9× U.S.	0.5 mi	Businesses for sale in NY →View on the map →
11	11355	Flushing, NY	80,801	2	1 per 40,401 · 17.8× U.S.	0.6 mi	Businesses for sale in Flushing →View on the map →
12	10021	New York, NY	39,868	1	1 per 39,868 · 17.6× U.S.	0.1 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
13	90020	Los Angeles, CA	38,994	1	1 per 38,994 · 17.2× U.S.	0.2 mi	Businesses for sale in Los Angeles →View on the map →
14	20105	Aldie, VA	37,639	1	1 per 37,639 · 16.6× U.S.	1.2 mi	Businesses for sale in VA →View on the map →
15	28278	Charlotte, NC	37,420	1	1 per 37,420 · 16.5× U.S.	2.4 mi	Businesses for sale in Charlotte →View on the map →
16	55024	Farmington, MN	37,287	1	1 per 37,287 · 16.5× U.S.	4.1 mi	Businesses for sale in MN →View on the map →
17	10026	New York, NY	37,123	1	1 per 37,123 · 16.4× U.S.	0.2 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
18	68022	Elkhorn, NE	36,538	1	1 per 36,538 · 16.1× U.S.	2.7 mi	Businesses for sale in Elkhorn →View on the map →
19	08757	Toms River, NJ	36,087	1	1 per 36,087 · 15.9× U.S.	1.4 mi	Businesses for sale in Toms River →View on the map →
20	33573	Sun City Center, FL	35,362	1	1 per 35,362 · 15.6× U.S.	1 mi	Businesses for sale in FL →View on the map →
21	11201	Brooklyn, NY	70,674	2	1 per 35,337 · 15.6× U.S.	0.3 mi	Businesses for sale in Brooklyn →View on the map →
22	55372	Prior Lake, MN	34,772	1	1 per 34,772 · 15.4× U.S.	2.2 mi	Businesses for sale in MN →View on the map →
23	92139	San Diego, CA	34,703	1	1 per 34,703 · 15.3× U.S.	0.6 mi	Businesses for sale in San Diego →View on the map →
24	94114	San Francisco, CA	33,020	1	1 per 33,020 · 14.6× U.S.	0.3 mi	Businesses for sale in San Francisco →View on the map →
25	85716	Tucson, AZ	32,976	1	1 per 32,976 · 14.6× U.S.	0.7 mi	Businesses for sale in Tucson →View on the map →

110025 New York, NY1 per 93,065Pop 93,065 · 1 mapped · 41.1× U.S. · nearest 0.3 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
211375 Forest Hills, NY1 per 76,839Pop 76,839 · 1 mapped · 33.9× U.S. · nearest 1 miBusinesses for sale in Forest Hills →View on the map →
311213 Brooklyn, NY1 per 68,846Pop 68,846 · 1 mapped · 30.4× U.S. · nearest 0.5 miBusinesses for sale in Brooklyn →View on the map →
410031 New York, NY1 per 61,058Pop 61,058 · 1 mapped · 27.0× U.S. · nearest 0.5 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
510009 New York, NY1 per 60,209Pop 60,209 · 1 mapped · 26.6× U.S. · nearest 0.4 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
694582 San Ramon, CA1 per 47,424Pop 47,424 · 1 mapped · 20.9× U.S. · nearest 0.7 miBusinesses for sale in CA →View on the map →
790057 Los Angeles, CA1 per 46,629Pop 46,629 · 1 mapped · 20.6× U.S. · nearest 0.4 miBusinesses for sale in Los Angeles →View on the map →
811221 Brooklyn, NY1 per 45,794Pop 91,588 · 2 mapped · 20.2× U.S. · nearest 0.5 miBusinesses for sale in Brooklyn →View on the map →
910019 New York, NY1 per 44,942Pop 44,942 · 1 mapped · 19.8× U.S. · nearest 0.4 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
1011421 Woodhaven, NY1 per 40,612Pop 40,612 · 1 mapped · 17.9× U.S. · nearest 0.5 miBusinesses for sale in NY →View on the map →
1111355 Flushing, NY1 per 40,401Pop 80,801 · 2 mapped · 17.8× U.S. · nearest 0.6 miBusinesses for sale in Flushing →View on the map →
1210021 New York, NY1 per 39,868Pop 39,868 · 1 mapped · 17.6× U.S. · nearest 0.1 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
1390020 Los Angeles, CA1 per 38,994Pop 38,994 · 1 mapped · 17.2× U.S. · nearest 0.2 miBusinesses for sale in Los Angeles →View on the map →
1420105 Aldie, VA1 per 37,639Pop 37,639 · 1 mapped · 16.6× U.S. · nearest 1.2 miBusinesses for sale in VA →View on the map →
1528278 Charlotte, NC1 per 37,420Pop 37,420 · 1 mapped · 16.5× U.S. · nearest 2.4 miBusinesses for sale in Charlotte →View on the map →
1655024 Farmington, MN1 per 37,287Pop 37,287 · 1 mapped · 16.5× U.S. · nearest 4.1 miBusinesses for sale in MN →View on the map →
1710026 New York, NY1 per 37,123Pop 37,123 · 1 mapped · 16.4× U.S. · nearest 0.2 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
1868022 Elkhorn, NE1 per 36,538Pop 36,538 · 1 mapped · 16.1× U.S. · nearest 2.7 miBusinesses for sale in Elkhorn →View on the map →
1908757 Toms River, NJ1 per 36,087Pop 36,087 · 1 mapped · 15.9× U.S. · nearest 1.4 miBusinesses for sale in Toms River →View on the map →
2033573 Sun City Center, FL1 per 35,362Pop 35,362 · 1 mapped · 15.6× U.S. · nearest 1 miBusinesses for sale in FL →View on the map →
2111201 Brooklyn, NY1 per 35,337Pop 70,674 · 2 mapped · 15.6× U.S. · nearest 0.3 miBusinesses for sale in Brooklyn →View on the map →
2255372 Prior Lake, MN1 per 34,772Pop 34,772 · 1 mapped · 15.4× U.S. · nearest 2.2 miBusinesses for sale in MN →View on the map →
2392139 San Diego, CA1 per 34,703Pop 34,703 · 1 mapped · 15.3× U.S. · nearest 0.6 miBusinesses for sale in San Diego →View on the map →
2494114 San Francisco, CA1 per 33,020Pop 33,020 · 1 mapped · 14.6× U.S. · nearest 0.3 miBusinesses for sale in San Francisco →View on the map →
2585716 Tucson, AZ1 per 32,976Pop 32,976 · 1 mapped · 14.6× U.S. · nearest 0.7 miBusinesses for sale in Tucson →View on the map →

Ranked by people per business, highest first. ZIPs with at least 5,000 residents and at least one mapped. Estimate only, not proof of demand.

None mapped
≥2× U.S. people per business
1.25–2×
Near average
Well served

Large ZIPs with none mapped

The most populated ZIPs with at least 5,000 residents where open map data shows no gas station businesses. Listed separately, not ranked: one may sit just over the ZIP line, so check the nearest distance and the map.

Most populated ZIPs with none mapped, at least 5,000 residents
#	ZIP	Place	Population	People per business	Nearest	Links
1	10002	New York, NY	76,873	None mapped	0.4 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
2	10023	New York, NY	69,455	None mapped	1 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
3	10024	New York, NY	63,115	None mapped	0.7 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
4	10016	New York, NY	52,971	None mapped	0.7 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
5	90002	Los Angeles, CA	52,122	None mapped	0.8 mi	Businesses for sale in Los Angeles →View on the map →
6	10028	New York, NY	49,077	None mapped	0.2 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
7	10011	New York, NY	48,277	None mapped	0.2 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
8	10040	New York, NY	40,096	None mapped	0.4 mi	Businesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
9	60611	Chicago, IL	37,705	None mapped	0.9 mi	Businesses for sale in Chicago →View on the map →
10	33993	Cape Coral, FL	35,580	None mapped	2.5 mi	Businesses for sale in Cape Coral →View on the map →

110002 New York, NYNone mappedPop 76,873 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.4 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
210023 New York, NYNone mappedPop 69,455 · 0 mapped · nearest 1 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
310024 New York, NYNone mappedPop 63,115 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.7 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
410016 New York, NYNone mappedPop 52,971 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.7 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
590002 Los Angeles, CANone mappedPop 52,122 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.8 miBusinesses for sale in Los Angeles →View on the map →
610028 New York, NYNone mappedPop 49,077 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.2 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
710011 New York, NYNone mappedPop 48,277 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.2 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
810040 New York, NYNone mappedPop 40,096 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.4 miBusinesses for sale in New York →View on the map →
960611 Chicago, ILNone mappedPop 37,705 · 0 mapped · nearest 0.9 miBusinesses for sale in Chicago →View on the map →
1033993 Cape Coral, FLNone mappedPop 35,580 · 0 mapped · nearest 2.5 miBusinesses for sale in Cape Coral →View on the map →

Estimate only, not proof of demand.

See all ZIPs on the gap map →

Rather buy one that's already running? See gas stations for sale near you on BizFisher Hunt. It's free.

Questions about gas station gaps

Why does a gas station carry a license note?: Gas stations need fuel, environmental and often tobacco or alcohol permits, and zoning can limit new stations. A thin count may reflect those limits.
Why doesn't population tell the whole story?: Drivers buy fuel where they pass, not where they live. A ZIP with few residents on a busy highway may support stations that a large residential ZIP can't.
What's worth checking when buying a gas station?: Fuel supply contracts, the condition of underground tanks and environmental records, in-store sales, and whether permits transfer to a new owner.