This map quantifies the Sheetz versus Wawa turf war

Yesterday, President Donald Trump visited a Wawa gas station in King of Prussia outside of the Philadelphia area. That rekindled the classic battle over Pennsylvania-based convenience stores as many people took to social media to declare allegiance to Sheetz in protest of Trump. Sheetz started the trend on Twitter, and the battle over Sheetz versus Wawa was on again.

Sheetz is based in Altoona and associated with Western Pennsylvania, while Wawa is based in Delaware County and associated with Eastern Pennsylvania. The battle between the two is as played out as ever, but it is usually a bit of fun.

But now, Pennsylvanians and fans of gas station/convenience store/fast food combos everywhere can see exactly where the battle lines are between the two convenience store chains.

Always love to see @sheetz and @Wawa trending. Having lived squarely in either territory, I miss them both.

This map was #mto with ❤️ pic.twitter.com/nmN4GdCs8D

— Joshua Stevens (@jscarto) July 31, 2020

Joshua Stevens, a cartographer at NASA, shared a map on Twitter to showcase the density of Sheetz and Wawa stores across the Mid-Atlantic. Red is for Sheetz and blue is for Wawa.

According to the map, the peak battleground between the two appears to be around Berks County. That’s where there are more than 10 Sheetz and Wawas each. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area also has a lot of Sheetz and Wawas in the same area, but not as many as Berks County.

Southwestern Pennsylvania is peak Sheetz Country, with several regions with more than 10 Sheetz and no Wawas. Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey are peak Wawa country, with not a Sheetz in sight. Sheetz is making a move into Lancaster County, which is still dominated by Wawa, while Wawa is expanding into Sheetz territory in Westminster and Frederick counties in Maryland.

Another emerging battleground, what Stevens calls the “battlefield for your belly” is the DMV area of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, and stretching south to Richmond, Va.

In total, Sheetz appears to have a greater range, with stores in Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Wawa has a smaller territory, but higher density of stores in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.