Dollar General plans second store in Hilliard, Florida, near state line

A second Dollar General in Hilliard could mean more hiring, more transfer options and a little more breathing room for a market that has long depended on one discount store to cover everyday needs. It could also mean tighter competition for the same associates, key holders and assistant managers in a town of just 2,967 people.

The proposed store would sit along U.S. 1 in Nassau County, just south of the Florida-Georgia state line, and the site plan under county review called for a 9,100-square-foot building with 30 parking spaces. Another Dollar General already operates about eight miles away at 551609 U.S. 1, a sign that the company sees room to layer stores into a narrow trade area where routine trips drive sales.

For workers, that kind of expansion usually changes the day-to-day picture before the front doors ever open. A second store typically creates openings for sales associates, shift leaders and assistant manager roles, while also giving nearby employees a place to move if they want more hours, a shorter commute or a path into management. At the same time, it can thin out the labor pool for both stores, especially in a small town where the same workers are often being recruited by grocery, convenience and other retail employers.

The timing also fits Nassau County’s growth pattern. County data show the population rose 12.34% from 2020 to 2023, while the 2020 Census counted 90,352 residents countywide. Hilliard remains far smaller, and that makes store spacing, staffing and scheduling especially sensitive. If Dollar General adds another location there, district managers will have to balance coverage carefully so one store is not left scrambling to keep shelves full and registers covered while the new unit ramps up.

The company has kept expanding even as it works through other parts of its portfolio. Dollar General said it had 20,594 stores in the U.S. and Mexico as of Jan. 31, 2025, and 20,901 stores as of Oct. 31, 2025. Its third-quarter 2025 net sales reached $10.6 billion, up 4.6% from a year earlier, with same-store sales and traffic both up 2.5%. Its 2026 real-estate plan called for roughly 450 new U.S. stores, about 10 new stores in Mexico, around 20 relocations and about 4,250 remodels.

That growth has not come without retrenchment. In a January 2025 filing, the company said it closed 45 pOpshelf stores and converted six more to Dollar General stores, while its 2024 annual report said operating profit was hit by charges tied to store closures and pOpshelf impairment. In Hilliard, though, the immediate question for employees is simpler: whether a second store means more opportunity, or just another store dividing the same workload.