Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Alabama

Fast food and sandwich shops in Hale County, AL

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for fast food and sandwich shops in Hale County, AL, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,227 of 2,222 scored counties
#18 of 60 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
6
5 chain locations (83%)
Official establishments
8
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$16M
On food away from home · $2,843 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
12% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.6
20% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
15,194
+2.9% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Hale County

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 Hale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $2,843 per household (30% below the U.S. average), households in Hale County spend about $16M a year on food away from home. That is about $2.7M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 12% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

Hale County has 6 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 5 of them (83%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 10.6 for every 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Hale County was 8 in 2023. That is one for every 705 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. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Hale County grew 2.9% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For fast food and sandwich shops, Hale County has a Groundwork market score of 48 (lower middle): #1,227 of 2,222 scored counties and #18 of 60 scored counties in Alabama.

How Hale County 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Hale County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureHale CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.615.113.3
Spending per listing$2.7M$2.3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)705450478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.9%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,843$3,519$4,070
Median household income$39,250$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4820

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 8All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
132
Annual payroll, 2023
$2M
One-person businesses, 2023
3All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
65 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
5The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Hale County, 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 Hale County

Population, 2025 estimate
15,194+2.9% since 2020
Households
5,642
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
644 sq. mi.
People per square mile
23
Median household income
$39,250+15.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$60,886
Median home value
$127,600
Jobs located here
2,723
Daytime population
11,017Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hale County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Hale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Fast food and sandwich shops across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Hale County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Limestone County, AL86399.5$4.2M+18.0%#44 of 2,222
2Randolph County, AL7077.6$4.2M+4.8%#354 of 2,222
3Blount County, AL69188.1$4.2M+1.8%#391 of 2,222
4Lawrence County, AL67128.8$3.9M+2.3%#468 of 2,222
5Cleburne County, AL65610.0$3.1M+6.0%#555 of 2,222
6Shelby County, AL6211913.7$3.2M+6.5%#658 of 2,222
7Autauga County, AL602812.2$3.1M+5.1%#749 of 2,222
8Cherokee County, AL591110.8$3M+5.8%#793 of 2,222
9Baldwin County, AL5814014.2$2.7M+14.8%#838 of 2,222
10Chilton County, AL572111.7$2.9M+5.9%#868 of 2,222
18Hale County, AL48610.6$2.7M+2.9%#1,227 of 2,222

Other business types in Hale County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Hale County, AL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 fast food and sandwich shops in Hale County. 5 of them (83%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Hale County, AL spend on food away from home?

About $16M a year, or $2,843 per household. That is 30% below the U.S. average (an index of 70, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 5,642 households in Hale County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Hale County, AL compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

Hale County has 10.6 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.7M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Hale County would have about 5, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 705 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Hale County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Hale County at 15,194 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,642 households. Median household income in Hale County is $39,250, 51% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.3%, before inflation.

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. Hale County scores 48 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #1,227 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Hale County. 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 Hale County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hale County?

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 Hale County. 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.