Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Arizona

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Nogales, AZ area

How the Nogales, AZ 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 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #235 of 537 scored small-town markets
#3 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona

Listings
22
16 chain locations (73%)
Official establishments
28
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$54M
On food away from home · $3,182 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
20% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.0
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
50,020
+4.8% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Nogales 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 Nogales 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

Households in the Nogales area spend about $54M a year on food away from home, or $3,182 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Spread across 22 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.5M per shop, 20% 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 22 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Nogales area as of September 2026. Of those, 16 are chain locations, or 73%, against 79% across the U.S. That is 13.0 per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Nogales area was 28 in 2023. That is one for every 606 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 16 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Nogales area grew 4.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Nogales area is 55 (upper middle), #235 of 537 scored small-town markets and #3 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona.

How the Nogales area compares

The same measures for Arizona 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 Nogales, AZ area compared with Arizona and the U.S.
MeasureNogales areaArizonaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.013.313.3
Spending per listing$2.5M$3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)606500478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.8%+6.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,182$3,982$4,070
Median household income$55,217$79,964$80,734
Groundwork market score5555

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
28All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
471
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
16All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2216 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
18The 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 Nogales 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 Nogales area

Population, 2025 estimate
50,020+4.8% since 2020
Households
16,966
Median age
38.7
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,236 sq. mi.
People per square mile
40
Median household income
$55,217+33.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,913
Median home value
$233,000
Jobs located here
12,313
Daytime population
42,829Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Nogales 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 Nogales 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 Arizona

Every Arizona market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arizona for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Nogales area marked.

Top small-town markets in Arizona

Small-town markets in Arizona ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Safford, AZ671310.2$3.4M+4.0%#112 of 537
2Payson, AZ563012.7$2.6M+0.9%#223 of 537
3Nogales, AZ552213.0$2.5M+4.8%#235 of 537
4Show Low, AZ415814.5$2.2M+3.0%#362 of 537

Other business types in the Nogales 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 Nogales, AZ area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 22 fast food and sandwich shops in the Nogales area. 16 of them (73%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 28 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 16 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Nogales, AZ area spend on food away from home?

About $54M a year, or $3,182 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.5M 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 16,966 households in the Nogales area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Nogales area has 13.0 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.5M, 20% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Nogales area would have about 18, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 606 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is the Nogales, AZ area growing?

Population estimates put the Nogales area at 50,020 people in 2025, up 4.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,966 households. Median household income in the Nogales area is $55,217, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 33.8%, 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. 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 Nogales area scores 55 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #235 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 Nogales 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 Nogales area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Nogales 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 Nogales 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.