Groundwork

Food and drink · County · California

Fast food and sandwich shops in Kern County, CA

How Kern County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,709 of 2,222 scored counties
#50 of 53 scored counties in California

Listings
483
410 chain locations (85%)
Official establishments
717
All limited-service restaurants · +8.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.1B
On food away from home · $3,702 a household
Spending per listing
$2.2M
28% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.0
28% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
927,068
+2.3% since 2020

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

The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in Kern County is 34 (lower middle), #1,709 of 2,222 scored counties and #50 of 53 scored counties in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

As of September 2026, map listings count 483 fast food and sandwich shops in Kern County. Of those, 410 are chain locations, or 85%, against 79% across the U.S. That is 17.0 per 10,000 households, 28% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

At $3,702 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in Kern County spend about $1.1B a year on food away from home. That is about $2.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 28% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 717 businesses with payroll in Kern County classed as limited-service restaurants, up 8.3% from 2019. That is one for every 397 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. Since fiscal 2022, 23 SBA-backed loans worth $16M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Kern County. Population estimates put the population change in Kern County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Kern County 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Kern County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureKern CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.012.913.3
Spending per listing$2.2M$3.5M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)397392478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.3%+6.5%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,702$4,559$4,070
Median household income$70,210$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score3449

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
662 → 717All limited-service restaurants · +8.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
14,090
Annual payroll, 2023
$313.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
115All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
483410 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
346The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
23
Amount
$16M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Kern 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 Kern County

Population, 2025 estimate
927,068+2.3% since 2020
Households
284,931
Median age
33.6
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
8,135 sq. mi.
People per square mile
112
Median household income
$70,210+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,147
Median home value
$338,300
Jobs located here
302,967
Daytime population
882,683Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Kern 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 Kern 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 California

Every California market ranked →

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

Top counties in California

Counties in California ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yuba County, CA85217.3$5.2M+8.2%#54 of 2,222
2San Benito County, CA822110.2$4.8M+8.6%#95 of 2,222
3Amador County, CA79169.9$4.1M+3.2%#151 of 2,222
4Calaveras County, CA77147.6$5.3M+2.8%#180 of 2,222
5Nevada County, CA724510.5$4.1M−0.4%#304 of 2,222
6Contra Costa County, CA6941410.0$5.2M+0.3%#384 of 2,222
7El Dorado County, CA688711.4$4.2M+0.6%#425 of 2,222
8Marin County, CA67979.4$5.9M−2.9%#455 of 2,222
9Sonoma County, CA6721411.2$4.2M−0.4%#464 of 2,222
10Lake County, CA66207.4$4.7M−0.6%#498 of 2,222
50Kern County, CA3448317.0$2.2M+2.3%#1,709 of 2,222

Other business types in Kern 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 Kern County, CA?

Kern County has 483 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 410 of them (85%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 717 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 8.3% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 115 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Kern County, CA spend on food away from home?

About $1.1B a year, or $3,702 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 483 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.2M 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 284,931 households in Kern County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Kern County has 17.0 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 28% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.2M, 28% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Kern County would have about 346, against 483 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 397 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Kern County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Kern County at 927,068 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 284,931 households. The median household income in Kern County is $70,210 a year, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.6% 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. Kern County scores 34 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #1,709 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Kern 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.