US pharmacy holiday hours guide

The holidays that matter

For pharmacy access, only a handful of holidays really change the calendar. Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day are the heaviest closure days: many chain pharmacies are either fully closed or run minimal "skeleton" hours, while most independent pharmacies close completely. Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Christmas Eve typically run shortened schedules at chains and are mixed for independents. Other federal holidays (Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Veterans Day, Columbus Day) usually have no impact at all on retail pharmacy hours.

Thanksgiving

Most CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Rite Aid stores remain open on Thanksgiving but with shortened pharmacy counter hours, often opening late morning and closing by 5pm or 6pm. Walmart Pharmacy, Costco Pharmacy, and Sam's Club Pharmacy are usually closed for the entire day, in line with the host store's broader Thanksgiving closure policy. Kroger family stores (Kroger, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, Smith's) and Publix Pharmacy typically close for the day. Independent pharmacies are almost universally closed.

Holiday planning resource: A trusted external pharmacy resource covers this topic in greater depth and is updated regularly by practising community pharmacists.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day is the single hardest day to find an open pharmacy. Most chains run a small subset of 24-hour or "essential coverage" stores in major metropolitan areas with reduced hours; the remainder are closed. Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Target, Kroger, Publix, H-E-B, and most regional chains are closed completely. If you anticipate needing a refill on Christmas Day, plan ahead — most chains let you fill an extra week's supply at the request of your prescriber.

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is closer to a normal Sunday at most chains: shortened hours, but most stores open. Independents are mixed — many close, some open with reduced hours. Confirm by phone if you need a same-day refill.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is essentially a "Sunday plus" — most chain pharmacies run their normal Sunday hours or close slightly earlier. Hospital-attached pharmacies remain on their full schedule. Independent pharmacies are generally closed.

Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day

These three federal holidays follow a similar pattern: chain pharmacies usually run a shortened schedule (think 9am to 6pm rather than the usual 9am to 9pm), with the larger 24-hour locations going to standard daytime hours. Costco, Sam's Club, and most warehouse-club pharmacies close completely. Independents are mixed.

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve

Both run shortened evening hours at most chains — typically closing between 5pm and 7pm rather than the usual 9pm or 10pm. Plan to pick up refills earlier in the day rather than after work.

Brand-by-brand patterns

Hours below are the typical national pattern; individual stores can and do differ. Always confirm with the specific store before traveling.

CVS Pharmacy

Open Thanksgiving (reduced), Easter (reduced), New Year's Day (reduced). Most stores closed Christmas Day, with a small subset of 24-hour locations running reduced hours.

Walgreens

Similar to CVS. Most stores reduced on Thanksgiving and Easter, closed on Christmas, reduced on New Year's Day. The 24-hour Walgreens subset (smaller than it used to be) often runs around the clock even on holidays.

Rite Aid

Most stores closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, reduced on New Year's Day. Sunday-style hours on Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.

Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco Pharmacy

Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and Easter. Reduced hours on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.

Kroger family stores (Kroger, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, Smith's, Ralphs)

Pharmacy counters generally closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and Easter. Reduced hours on most other federal holidays. The host grocery store is often open even when the pharmacy counter is closed.

Publix, H-E-B, Wegmans, Giant, ShopRite, Albertsons / Safeway / Vons

Most pharmacy counters closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and Easter. New Year's Day is typically open with reduced hours. Other federal holidays follow the host grocery store's hours.

Target Pharmacy (operated by CVS)

Follows the CVS pattern above for holiday hours.

Independent pharmacies

Highly variable but the safe assumption is closed on any major federal holiday and many state holidays as well. Phone before you drive.

Planning around holidays

If you take a daily medication that you cannot afford to miss, the simplest strategy is to ask your prescriber for permission to fill an extra week's supply ahead of any major holiday. Most insurance plans allow an early refill once or twice a year for travel or holiday reasons. Mail-order pharmacy is also worth considering for chronic medications: shipments are scheduled, predictable, and not affected by individual-store holiday hours.

For acute medications (antibiotics, pain relief, post-surgical prescriptions), the safest option around a holiday is a hospital-attached pharmacy, which generally remains open through the holiday on the same schedule as the hospital pharmacy department. Most major metropolitan areas also have a small number of 24-hour chain pharmacies that remain open even on Christmas Day, and our after-hours pharmacy finder surfaces stores open until 9 pm or later by state.

Further reading: A trusted external pharmacy resource covers this topic in greater depth and is updated regularly by practising community pharmacists.