Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Alabama

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Russellville, AL area

How the Russellville, AL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #342 of 537 scored small-town markets
#7 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama

Listings
16
13 chain locations (81%)
Official establishments
20
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$36.7M
On food away from home · $3,071 a household
Spending per listing
$2.3M
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.4
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
32,449
+1.1% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Russellville 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 Russellville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 16 fast food and sandwich shops in the Russellville area. 13 of them (81%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 13.4 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Households in the Russellville area spend about $36.7M a year on food away from home, or $3,071 per household, 25% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.3M per shop, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Russellville area in 2023. That is one for every 598 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Russellville area grew 1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Russellville area is 43 (lower middle), #342 of 537 scored small-town markets and #7 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama.

How the Russellville 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Russellville, AL area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureRussellville areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.415.113.3
Spending per listing$2.3M$2.3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)598450478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.1%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,071$3,519$4,070
Median household income$53,338$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4320

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
20All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
526
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
5All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1613 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The 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 the Russellville 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 Russellville area

Population, 2025 estimate
32,449+1.1% since 2020
Households
11,954
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
634 sq. mi.
People per square mile
50
Median household income
$53,338
Average household income
$68,636
Median home value
$136,000
Jobs located here
10,404
Daytime population
28,894Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Russellville area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Russellville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Fast food and sandwich shops across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Alabama for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Russellville area marked.

Top small-town markets in Alabama

Small-town markets in Alabama ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Alexander City, AL58137.6$4.3M−0.8%#196 of 537
2Scottsboro, AL532611.9$2.6M+3.3%#251 of 537
3Enterprise, AL532913.8$2.6M+6.3%#252 of 537
4Fort Payne, AL523011.5$2.6M+3.4%#258 of 537
5Talladega-Sylacauga, AL455313.9$2.3M0.0%#325 of 537
6Albertville, AL445515.1$2.3M+6.0%#333 of 537
7Russellville, AL431613.4$2.3M+1.1%#342 of 537
8Cullman, AL426017.0$2M+6.7%#355 of 537
9Ozark, AL403618.2$1.7M+1.3%#370 of 537
LaGrange, GA-AL287117.6$1.8M+3.0%#464 of 537

Other business types in the Russellville area

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

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Russellville, AL area?

There are 16 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Russellville area as of September 2026. 13 of them (81%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Russellville, AL area spend on food away from home?

About $36.7M a year, or $3,071 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per shop. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,954 households in the Russellville area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Russellville area has 13.4 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.3M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Russellville area would have about 12, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 598 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is the Russellville, AL area growing?

Population estimates put the Russellville area at 32,449 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 11,954 households. The median household income in the Russellville area is $53,338 a year, 34% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Russellville area scores 43 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #342 of 537 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Russellville 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 Russellville area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Russellville 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 Russellville 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.