Market rankings · Food and drink
Top markets for fast food and sandwich shops
Every U.S. metro area, small-town market and county, ranked by the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops. The score weighs household spending per shop, households per business, population growth and spending power.
- Listings in the U.S.
- 172,373
- 135,991 chain locations (79%)
- Official establishments
- 270,088
- All limited-service restaurants · +6.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $525.9B
- On food away from home
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.3
- Spending per listing: $3.1M
A site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings around the address by name and distance, and the spending within reach.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
There are 172,373 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the U.S. as of September 2026. Of those, 135,991 are chain locations, or 79%. That is 13.3 per 10,000 households.
At $4,070 per household, households in the U.S. spend about $525.9B a year on food away from home. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each shop on map listings. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
In 2023, official counts showed 270,088 businesses with payroll in the U.S. classed as limited-service restaurants, up 6.1% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. They employ 4,965,080 people, with $103.6B in annual payroll. Official counts also show 50,693 one-person businesses without payroll.
The Naples-Marco Island, FL metro area has the highest market score for fast food and sandwich shops among 387 scored metro areas, at 93. In the 10 highest-scoring metro areas, the median spending per shop is 46% above the U.S. figure, and the median rate of listings per household is 27% below the U.S. rate.
Top markets
These tables (CSV)Ranked by the Groundwork market score, which weighs household spending per competitor, households per business with payroll, population growth and spending power against every other market of the same kind. How the score works.
Top metro areas of 1 million people or more
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 84 | 1,696 | 10.5 | $4.7M | +3.3% |
| 13Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 84 | 1,202 | 12.1 | $3.7M | +14.0% |
| 16Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 83 | 1,530 | 10.4 | $4.5M | +2.6% |
| 34Raleigh-Cary, NC | 78 | 720 | 12.5 | $3.6M | +12.6% |
| 38Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 76 | 1,656 | 8.5 | $5.8M | +2.3% |
| 40Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 76 | 522 | 11.2 | $4M | +3.0% |
| 56Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 73 | 1,571 | 11.8 | $3.3M | +7.3% |
| 57Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 72 | 658 | 9.7 | $4.3M | +2.1% |
| 60Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 72 | 1,122 | 11.1 | $4M | +1.0% |
| 61Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 72 | 1,554 | 12.7 | $3.7M | +4.1% |
| 65Richmond, VA | 71 | 691 | 13.0 | $3.2M | +5.5% |
| 71Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 70 | 1,416 | 13.2 | $3.1M | +10.1% |
| 75Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 69 | 2,715 | 11.6 | $3.4M | +4.2% |
| 77Kansas City, MO-KS | 69 | 1,191 | 13.3 | $3.1M | +3.4% |
| 82Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 68 | 2,863 | 12.1 | $4.3M | +3.3% |
Top 50 metro areas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Naples-Marco Island, FL | 93 | 166 | 10.0 | $4.3M | +10.6% |
| 2Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 91 | 52 | 8.4 | $5M | +10.4% |
| 3Helena, MT | 90 | 34 | 8.7 | $4.6M | +7.7% |
| 4North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 90 | 383 | 9.8 | $4.1M | +13.2% |
| 5Greeley, CO | 89 | 149 | 12.0 | $3.6M | +14.2% |
| 6Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 87 | 64 | 9.1 | $4.1M | +21.1% |
| 7Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 86 | 105 | 9.7 | $4.7M | +2.7% |
| 8Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | 85 | 46 | 9.7 | $4.2M | +5.0% |
| 9Worcester, MA | 84 | 300 | 8.9 | $5M | +3.7% |
| 10Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 84 | 1,696 | 10.5 | $4.7M | +3.3% |
| 11Punta Gorda, FL | 84 | 76 | 8.4 | $4.3M | +15.5% |
| 12Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL | 84 | 72 | 10.2 | $3.8M | +7.7% |
| 13Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 84 | 1,202 | 12.1 | $3.7M | +14.0% |
| 14Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 84 | 344 | 10.5 | $3.7M | +14.4% |
| 15Bend, OR | 84 | 123 | 11.8 | $3.6M | +7.0% |
| 16Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 83 | 1,530 | 10.4 | $4.5M | +2.6% |
| 17Bellingham, WA | 83 | 98 | 10.4 | $3.9M | +3.9% |
| 18Manchester-Nashua, NH | 82 | 161 | 9.5 | $4.9M | +2.5% |
| 19Madison, WI | 82 | 354 | 11.7 | $3.7M | +4.1% |
| 20Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 82 | 281 | 10.9 | $3.6M | +9.1% |
| 21Rochester, MN | 81 | 99 | 10.7 | $4.1M | +2.0% |
| 22Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | 81 | 44 | 10.0 | $4M | +10.3% |
| 23Bismarck, ND | 81 | 65 | 11.6 | $3.6M | +4.5% |
| 24Port St. Lucie, FL | 81 | 225 | 11.0 | $3.5M | +16.0% |
| 25Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 81 | 118 | 12.4 | $3.3M | +12.0% |
| 26Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | 80 | 135 | 11.4 | $3.8M | +2.8% |
| 27Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 80 | 362 | 12.3 | $3.5M | +6.7% |
| 28Lancaster, PA | 79 | 193 | 9.1 | $4.6M | +1.9% |
| 29Burlington-South Burlington, VT | 79 | 95 | 10.0 | $4.3M | +0.9% |
| 30Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | 79 | 52 | 9.9 | $4.2M | +2.4% |
| 31Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 79 | 295 | 11.9 | $3.5M | +7.5% |
| 32Homosassa Springs, FL | 78 | 53 | 7.4 | $4.4M | +11.1% |
| 33Chambersburg, PA | 78 | 61 | 9.6 | $4M | +3.0% |
| 34Raleigh-Cary, NC | 78 | 720 | 12.5 | $3.6M | +12.6% |
| 35Gettysburg, PA | 77 | 33 | 8.1 | $5M | +3.6% |
| 36Bozeman, MT | 77 | 54 | 10.5 | $4.1M | +7.7% |
| 37Reading, PA | 77 | 165 | 10.1 | $3.9M | +2.7% |
| 38Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 76 | 1,656 | 8.5 | $5.8M | +2.3% |
| 39York-Hanover, PA | 76 | 184 | 10.1 | $4M | +3.6% |
| 40Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 76 | 522 | 11.2 | $4M | +3.0% |
| 41Charlottesville, VA | 76 | 105 | 11.6 | $3.8M | +3.1% |
| 42Portland-South Portland, ME | 76 | 286 | 11.9 | $3.6M | +4.5% |
| 43Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ | 76 | 114 | 10.3 | $3.6M | +6.5% |
| 44Appleton, WI | 76 | 122 | 12.2 | $3.4M | +2.7% |
| 45Anchorage, AK | 75 | 181 | 12.2 | $3.7M | +1.9% |
| 46Ocala, FL | 75 | 152 | 9.2 | $3.6M | +17.3% |
| 47Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 75 | 311 | 10.6 | $3.5M | +11.2% |
| 48Kennewick-Richland, WA | 75 | 137 | 12.7 | $3.3M | +6.5% |
| 49Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 74 | 214 | 11.2 | $4.2M | −0.4% |
| 50Lexington Park, MD | 73 | 81 | 10.7 | $4.8M | +2.1% |
Top 25 small-town markets
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Shelton, WA | 96 | 18 | 6.9 | $5.8M | +7.8% |
| 2Hemlock Farms, PA | 94 | 23 | 9.5 | $4.2M | +7.2% |
| 3Port Townsend, WA | 92 | 6 | 3.7 | $10.5M | +2.7% |
| 4Putnam, CT | 92 | 36 | 9.1 | $4.7M | +3.0% |
| 5Keene, NH | 89 | 24 | 7.8 | $5.1M | +2.3% |
| 6Torrington, CT | 88 | 43 | 9.0 | $4.9M | +2.2% |
| 7Blackfoot, ID | 88 | 14 | 8.7 | $4.4M | +6.4% |
| 8Sandpoint, ID | 88 | 17 | 8.4 | $4.4M | +14.8% |
| 9Detroit Lakes, MN | 86 | 10 | 6.9 | $5.5M | +0.9% |
| 10Seneca, SC | 86 | 29 | 8.4 | $4.2M | +6.3% |
| 11Brainerd, MN | 85 | 43 | 10.2 | $3.7M | +4.3% |
| 12Winchester, TN | 84 | 13 | 7.5 | $4.6M | +6.4% |
| 13Jackson, WY-ID | 84 | 19 | 13.1 | $3.9M | +4.2% |
| 14Greenfield, MA | 83 | 17 | 5.4 | $7M | −0.3% |
| 15Oak Harbor, WA | 83 | 26 | 7.2 | $5.8M | −1.5% |
| 16Port Angeles, WA | 83 | 24 | 6.8 | $5.4M | +1.1% |
| 17Wahpeton, ND-MN | 83 | 9 | 9.5 | $4M | 0.0% |
| 18Beaver Dam, WI | 82 | 28 | 7.8 | $4.9M | −0.3% |
| 19Concord, NH | 82 | 58 | 9.5 | $4.6M | +2.6% |
| 20Holland, MI | 82 | 50 | 11.0 | $3.7M | +2.1% |
| 21Decatur, IN | 81 | 11 | 8.9 | $4M | +2.2% |
| 22Alexandria, MN | 81 | 20 | 11.4 | $3.4M | +2.6% |
| 23Red Wing, MN | 80 | 19 | 9.6 | $4.2M | +1.3% |
| 24Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 80 | 45 | 10.5 | $4.1M | −0.4% |
| 25Austin, MN | 80 | 17 | 10.8 | $3.5M | +2.3% |
Top 25 counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Goochland County, VA | 98 | 7 | 6.8 | $7.4M | +17.4% |
| 2Elbert County, CO | 97 | 8 | 8.0 | $6.5M | +16.5% |
| 3Harris County, GA | 95 | 6 | 4.6 | $9.5M | +6.8% |
| 4New Kent County, VA | 95 | 10 | 10.8 | $4.5M | +21.2% |
| 5Powhatan County, VA | 94 | 8 | 7.1 | $6.6M | +7.0% |
| 6Sherburne County, MN | 93 | 21 | 5.9 | $7.9M | +6.8% |
| 7Louisa County, VA | 93 | 11 | 7.1 | $5.8M | +13.6% |
| 8Lincoln County, WY | 92 | 5 | 6.0 | $6.9M | +7.8% |
| 9Lincoln County, MO | 92 | 18 | 7.9 | $5.1M | +11.4% |
| 10Lincoln County, SD | 92 | 29 | 10.4 | $4.4M | +17.5% |
| 11Crook County, OR | 91 | 8 | 7.4 | $5.3M | +10.6% |
| 12Saunders County, NE | 91 | 8 | 9.0 | $4.8M | +6.0% |
| 13San Juan County, WA | 90 | 5 | 5.5 | $7.5M | +4.2% |
| 14Chatham County, NC | 90 | 28 | 8.5 | $5.3M | +11.0% |
| 15Union County, SD | 90 | 6 | 8.2 | $5.3M | +3.3% |
| 16Spencer County, KY | 90 | 8 | 10.9 | $4M | +7.7% |
| 17Calumet County, WI | 89 | 12 | 5.6 | $7.5M | +2.9% |
| 18Klickitat County, WA | 89 | 5 | 5.1 | $7.4M | +6.6% |
| 19Chisago County, MN | 89 | 16 | 7.5 | $6M | +4.3% |
| 20Edgefield County, SC | 89 | 6 | 6.1 | $5.8M | +16.1% |
| 21Mason County, WA | 89 | 18 | 6.9 | $5.8M | +7.8% |
| 22Madison County, IA | 89 | 5 | 7.5 | $5.6M | +3.8% |
| 23Warren County, MO | 89 | 10 | 7.2 | $5.6M | +9.2% |
| 24Pike County, GA | 89 | 5 | 7.4 | $5.4M | +10.5% |
| 25Wright County, MN | 89 | 53 | 9.8 | $4.8M | +11.1% |
Scored: 387 metro areas, 537 small-town markets and 2,222 counties, each with at least 5 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings (counties: 10,000 people or more). Spending per listing is all household spending on food away from home over the listings: demand for each competitor, not revenue. Each market has its own page, reached from its state below.
Excel · free with an account
Every market in one Excel file
Fast food and sandwich shops figures for all 387 metro areas, 538 small-town markets, 3,144 counties and 51 states: the Groundwork market score and rank, map listings and chains, household spending, businesses with payroll, employees and payroll, one-person businesses, SBA-backed loans, population, income and home value, each linked to its page. Sorted, filterable and ready to screen.
Fast food and sandwich shops by state
Every market in each state ranked, with the state’s highest-scoring metro area.
- AlabamaTop metro area: Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metro area · 58
- AlaskaTop metro area: Anchorage metro area · 75
- ArizonaTop metro area: Prescott Valley-Prescott metro area · 76
- ArkansasTop metro area: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area · 60
- CaliforniaTop metro area: Santa Rosa-Petaluma metro area · 74
- ColoradoTop metro area: Greeley metro area · 89
- ConnecticutTop metro area: Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area · 76
- DelawareTop metro area: Dover metro area · 63
- District of ColumbiaTop metro area: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area · 68
- FloridaTop metro area: Naples-Marco Island metro area · 93
- GeorgiaTop metro area: Gainesville metro area · 55
- HawaiiTop metro area: Urban Honolulu metro area · 50
- IdahoTop metro area: Coeur d’Alene metro area · 68
- IllinoisTop metro area: Peoria metro area · 60
- IndianaTop metro area: Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area · 58
- IowaTop metro area: Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area · 80
- KansasTop metro area: Topeka metro area · 57
- KentuckyTop metro area: Louisville/Jefferson County metro area · 51
- LouisianaTop metro area: Slidell-Mandeville-Covington metro area · 62
- MaineTop metro area: Portland-South Portland metro area · 76
- MarylandTop metro area: Lexington Park metro area · 73
- MassachusettsTop metro area: Amherst Town-Northampton metro area · 91
- MichiganTop metro area: Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood metro area · 68
- MinnesotaTop metro area: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area · 83
- MississippiTop metro area: Gulfport-Biloxi metro area · 34
- MissouriTop metro area: Kansas City metro area · 69
- MontanaTop metro area: Helena metro area · 90
- NebraskaTop metro area: Omaha metro area · 69
- NevadaTop metro area: Reno metro area · 65
- New HampshireTop metro area: Manchester-Nashua metro area · 82
- New JerseyTop metro area: Trenton-Princeton metro area · 69
- New MexicoTop metro area: Santa Fe metro area · 72
- New YorkTop metro area: Ithaca metro area · 73
- North CarolinaTop metro area: Pinehurst-Southern Pines metro area · 81
- North DakotaTop metro area: Bismarck metro area · 81
- OhioTop metro area: Columbus metro area · 59
- OklahomaTop metro area: Tulsa metro area · 48
- OregonTop metro area: Bend metro area · 84
- PennsylvaniaTop metro area: Lancaster metro area · 79
- Rhode IslandTop metro area: Providence-Warwick metro area · 72
- South CarolinaTop metro area: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area · 81
- South DakotaTop metro area: Sioux Falls metro area · 71
- TennesseeTop metro area: Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area · 58
- TexasTop metro area: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area · 84
- UtahTop metro area: Ogden metro area · 64
- VermontTop metro area: Burlington-South Burlington metro area · 79
- VirginiaTop metro area: Charlottesville metro area · 76
- WashingtonTop metro area: Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard metro area · 86
- West VirginiaTop metro area: Weirton-Steubenville metro area · 35
- WisconsinTop metro area: Madison metro area · 82
- WyomingTop metro area: Cheyenne metro area · 61
Related business types
- Restaurants and cafes1,418,317 listings
- Sit-down restaurants792,466 listings
- Pizza103,490 listings
- Coffee shops and cafes142,001 listings
- Bakeries and dessert shops126,921 listings
Questions
Which metro areas have the highest market score for fast food and sandwich shops?
The top 5 are Naples-Marco Island, FL (93); Amherst Town-Northampton, MA (91); Helena, MT (90); North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL (90); and Greeley, CO (89). The score compares each of 387 scored metro areas with the others for fast food and sandwich shops.
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the U.S.?
As of September 2026, map listings count 172,373 fast food and sandwich shops in the U.S. 135,991 of them (79%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 270,088 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 6.1% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 50,693 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do U.S. households spend on food away from home?
About $525.9B a year, or $4,070 per household. Spread across the 172,373 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.1M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 129,209,336 households in the U.S. and national spending patterns by income.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Markets with fewer than 5 map listings of the type, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address anywhere in the U.S. It maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
All business types and every U.S. market · How we measure
Screening a site or an acquisition?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.