Food and drink · Small-town market · California
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area
The fast food and sandwich shops in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #173 of 537 scored small-town markets
#6 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 50
- 30 chain locations (60%)
- Official establishments
- 93
- All limited-service restaurants · +9.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $192.4M
- On food away from home · $3,504 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 26% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.1
- 32% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 131,647
- −3.4% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 50 fast food and sandwich shops in the Eureka-Arcata area. Chain locations make up 60% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That is 9.1 per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
At $3,504 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Eureka-Arcata area spend about $192.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $3.8M per shop, 26% 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.
Official counts show 93 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata area in 2023, up 9.4% from 2019. That is one for every 591 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 14 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $2.7M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata area.
Population estimates show the Eureka-Arcata area declined 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Eureka-Arcata area is 60 (upper middle), #173 of 537 scored small-town markets and #6 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California.
How the Eureka-Arcata area compares
The same measures for California 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.
| Measure | Eureka-Arcata area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.1 | 12.9 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $3.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 591 | 392 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.4% | +6.5% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.4% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,504 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $61,160 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 60 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 93All limited-service restaurants · +9.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,440
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $30.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 14All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5030 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 63The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $2.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 131,647−3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 54,922
- Median age
- 40.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,568 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 38
- Median household income
- $61,160+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,194
- Median home value
- $446,900
- Jobs located here
- 48,178
- Daytime population
- 133,286Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Eureka-Arcata area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 80 | 45 | 10.5 | $4.1M | −0.4% | #24 of 537 |
| 2Sonora, CA | 74 | 22 | 9.7 | $4M | −4.0% | #59 of 537 |
| 3Clearlake, CA | 73 | 20 | 7.4 | $4.7M | −0.6% | #66 of 537 |
| 4Red Bluff, CA | 71 | 23 | 9.3 | $3.8M | −1.7% | #79 of 537 |
| 5Crescent City, CA | 68 | 10 | 10.5 | $3.4M | −4.4% | #103 of 537 |
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 66 | 31 | 14.2 | $3M | +0.9% | #124 of 537 |
| 6Eureka-Arcata, CA | 60 | 50 | 9.1 | $3.8M | −3.4% | #173 of 537 |
| 7Susanville, CA | 56 | 10 | 10.8 | $3.2M | −13.1% | #221 of 537 |
| 8Ukiah, CA | 55 | 37 | 10.6 | $3.5M | −3.5% | #225 of 537 |
| 9Bishop, CA | 32 | 14 | 17.4 | $2.2M | −4.4% | #434 of 537 |
Other business types in the Eureka-Arcata area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes24
- Sit-down restaurants25
- Fast food and sandwich shops60
- Pizza46
- Coffee shops and cafes21
- Bakeries and dessert shops28
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area?
There are 50 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Eureka-Arcata area as of September 2026. 30 of them (60%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 93 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 9.4% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 14 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area spend on food away from home?
About $192.4M a year, or $3,504 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 54,922 households in the Eureka-Arcata area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Eureka-Arcata, CA area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Eureka-Arcata area has 9.1 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.8M, 26% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Eureka-Arcata area would have about 63, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 591 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Eureka-Arcata, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Eureka-Arcata area at 131,647 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 54,922 households. The median household income in the Eureka-Arcata area is $61,160 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.3% 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. 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 Eureka-Arcata area scores 60 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #173 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 Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata 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.