Food and drink · Metro area · Alabama
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area
How the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #302 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama
- Listings
- 113
- 105 chain locations (93%)
- Official establishments
- 194
- All limited-service restaurants · +18.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $269.1M
- On food away from home · $3,510 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.4M
- 22% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.7
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 208,013
- +7.1% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Auburn-Opelika metro area
The site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Auburn-Opelika metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
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
For fast food and sandwich shops, the Auburn-Opelika metro area has a Groundwork market score of 32 (lower middle): #302 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on food away from home in the Auburn-Opelika metro area comes to about $269.1M a year: $3,510 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 113 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.4M per shop, 22% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
There are 113 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Auburn-Opelika metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 93% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That is 14.7 per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 194 businesses with payroll in the Auburn-Opelika metro area classed as limited-service restaurants, up 18.3% from 2019. That is one for every 395 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $5.9M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Auburn-Opelika metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Auburn-Opelika metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +7.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Auburn-Opelika metro area compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the fast food and sandwich shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Auburn-Opelika metro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.7 | 15.1 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.4M | $2.3M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 395 | 450 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +18.3% | +8.8% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.1% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,510 | $3,519 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $63,649 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 32 | 20 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 194All limited-service restaurants · +18.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,582
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $64.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 21All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 113105 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 88The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $5.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Auburn-Opelika metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in the Auburn-Opelika metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 208,013+7.1% since 2020
- Households
- 76,673
- Median age
- 37.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,216 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 164
- Median household income
- $63,649
- Average household income
- $87,657
- Median home value
- $247,500
- Jobs located here
- 69,655
- Daytime population
- 195,094Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Auburn-Opelika metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Auburn-Opelika metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Auburn-Opelika metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 58 | 140 | 14.2 | $2.7M | +14.8% | #155 of 387 |
| 2Huntsville, AL | 56 | 314 | 15.2 | $2.7M | +12.5% | #161 of 387 |
| 3Decatur, AL | 49 | 73 | 11.6 | $3.1M | +2.5% | #199 of 387 |
| 4Birmingham, AL | 32 | 691 | 14.9 | $2.5M | +1.4% | #299 of 387 |
| 5Auburn-Opelika, AL | 32 | 113 | 14.7 | $2.4M | +7.1% | #302 of 387 |
| 6Tuscaloosa, AL | 30 | 160 | 15.1 | $2.3M | +2.9% | #314 of 387 |
| 7Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 29 | 90 | 14.2 | $2.4M | +3.5% | #319 of 387 |
| 8Mobile, AL | 19 | 245 | 15.2 | $2.2M | −0.7% | #361 of 387 |
| 9Dothan, AL | 17 | 113 | 18.5 | $1.8M | +3.4% | #370 of 387 |
| 10Montgomery, AL | 16 | 270 | 17.8 | $2M | +0.9% | #372 of 387 |
Other business types in the Auburn-Opelika metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes43
- Sit-down restaurants43
- Fast food and sandwich shops32
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes56
- Bakeries and dessert shops62
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 113 fast food and sandwich shops in the Auburn-Opelika metro area. 105 of them (93%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 194 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 18.3% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Official counts also show 21 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area spend on food away from home?
About $269.1M a year, or $3,510 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 113 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.4M 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 76,673 households in the Auburn-Opelika metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Auburn-Opelika metro area has 14.7 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.4M, 22% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Auburn-Opelika metro area would have about 88, against 113 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 395 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 18.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Auburn-Opelika metro area at 208,013 people in 2025, up 7.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 76,673 households. Median household income in the Auburn-Opelika metro area is $63,649, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. The Auburn-Opelika metro area scores 32 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #302 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Auburn-Opelika metro area. 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.
How the score works · Top markets for fast food and sandwich shops · All 56 business types in the Auburn-Opelika metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Auburn-Opelika metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Auburn-Opelika metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
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.