Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Arkansas

Fast food and sandwich shops in Clay County, AR

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #974 of 2,222 scored counties
#12 of 56 scored counties in Arkansas

Listings
5
5 chain locations (100%)
Official establishments
4
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$17.9M
On food away from home · $2,969 a household
Spending per listing
$3.6M
17% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.3
38% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
14,052
−3.3% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Clay 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 Clay 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 $2,969 per household (27% below the U.S. average), households in Clay County spend about $17.9M a year on food away from home. That works out to $3.6M per shop, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

Clay County has 5 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. All of them are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 8.3 per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Clay County classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 1,505 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 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Clay County from 2020 to 2025 at −3.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For fast food and sandwich shops, Clay County has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #974 of 2,222 scored counties and #12 of 56 scored counties in Arkansas.

How Clay County compares

The same measures for Arkansas 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 Clay County, AR compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureClay CountyArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.314.213.3
Spending per listing$3.6M$2.4M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)1,505506478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+11.1%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.3%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,969$3,400$4,070
Median household income$51,481$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score5431

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 4All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
103
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
4All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
55 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The 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 Clay 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 Clay County

Population, 2025 estimate
14,052−3.3% since 2020
Households
6,021
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
639 sq. mi.
People per square mile
22
Median household income
$51,481+38.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$64,802
Median home value
$94,600
Jobs located here
3,028
Daytime population
11,822Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clay 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 Clay 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 Arkansas

Every Arkansas market ranked →

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

Top counties in Arkansas

Counties in Arkansas ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Marion County, AR7256.5$4.5M+4.3%#302 of 2,222
2Saline County, AR715210.4$3.7M+7.6%#334 of 2,222
3Benton County, AR6616614.8$2.9M+16.0%#533 of 2,222
4Polk County, AR6556.3$4.8M+1.6%#536 of 2,222
5Lonoke County, AR643211.2$3.2M+3.5%#582 of 2,222
6Izard County, AR6259.6$3M+5.9%#661 of 2,222
7Grant County, AR62912.9$2.8M+4.1%#666 of 2,222
8Hot Spring County, AR61108.1$3.9M+1.1%#682 of 2,222
9Van Buren County, AR5879.4$3.1M+2.8%#821 of 2,222
10Conway County, AR56910.9$2.8M+3.2%#918 of 2,222
12Clay County, AR5458.3$3.6M−3.3%#974 of 2,222

Other business types in Clay County

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Clay County, AR?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 fast food and sandwich shops in Clay County. 5 of them (100%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 4 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 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Clay County, AR spend on food away from home?

About $17.9M a year, or $2,969 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.6M 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 6,021 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Clay County has 8.3 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.6M, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Clay County would have about 6, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,505 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Clay County, AR growing?

Population estimates put Clay County at 14,052 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,021 households. Median household income in Clay County is $51,481, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 38.3%, 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. Clay County scores 54 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #974 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Clay 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 Clay County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.