Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Alaska

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Anchorage, AK metro area

The fast food and sandwich shops in the Anchorage, AK metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 75 out of 100: High

Ranked #45 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 2 scored metro areas based in Alaska

Listings
181
138 chain locations (76%)
Official establishments
276
All limited-service restaurants · +2.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$669.4M
On food away from home · $4,509 a household
Spending per listing
$3.7M
21% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.2
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
405,821
+1.9% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage metro area. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 181 fast food and sandwich shops in the Anchorage metro area. 138 of them (76%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.2, 8% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Households in the Anchorage metro area spend about $669.4M a year on food away from home, or $4,509 per household, 11% above the U.S. average. That is about $3.7M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 21% above 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Anchorage metro area was 276 in 2023, up 2.2% from 2019. That is one for every 538 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 67 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $4.7M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Anchorage metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Anchorage metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Anchorage metro area is 75 (high), #45 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 2 scored metro areas based in Alaska. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Anchorage metro area compares

The same measures for Alaska 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 Anchorage, AK metro area compared with Alaska and the U.S.
MeasureAnchorage metro areaAlaskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.210.813.3
Spending per listing$3.7M$4M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)538552478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.2%+8.4%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.9%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,509$4,320$4,070
Median household income$100,505$92,788$80,734
Groundwork market score7571

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
276All limited-service restaurants · +2.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,635
Annual payroll, 2023
$117.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
67All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
181138 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
219The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
9
Amount
$4.7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
405,821+1.9% since 2020
Households
148,466
Median age
36.6
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
26,410 sq. mi.
People per square mile
15
Median household income
$100,505+21.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$127,837
Median home value
$379,100
Jobs located here
n/a
Daytime population
n/aResidents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage metro area. 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 Alaska

Every Alaska market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alaska for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Alaska, with the Anchorage metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alaska

Metro areas in Alaska ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Anchorage, AK7518112.2$3.7M+1.9%#45 of 387
2Fairbanks-College, AK674512.4$3.4M−1.4%#93 of 387

Other business types in the Anchorage metro 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 Anchorage, AK metro area?

There are 181 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Anchorage metro area as of September 2026. 138 of them (76%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 276 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 2.2% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 67 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Anchorage, AK metro area spend on food away from home?

About $669.4M a year, or $4,509 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 181 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 148,466 households in the Anchorage metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Anchorage, AK metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Anchorage metro area has 12.2 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.7M, 21% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Anchorage metro area would have about 219, against 181 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 538 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Anchorage, AK metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Anchorage metro area at 405,821 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 148,466 households. The median household income in the Anchorage metro area is $100,505 a year, 24% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.0% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. The Anchorage metro area scores 75 for fast food and sandwich shops (high), #45 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 Anchorage 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 Anchorage metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage 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.