Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · California

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for fast food and sandwich shops in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #213 of 387 scored metro areas
#17 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
5,744
4,358 chain locations (76%)
Official establishments
12,756
All limited-service restaurants · +5.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$20.1B
On food away from home · $4,473 a household
Spending per listing
$3.5M
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.8
4% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
12,844,441
−2.6% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 5,744 fast food and sandwich shops in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. Of those, 4,358 are chain locations, or 76%, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.8, 4% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Households in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area spend about $20.1B a year on food away from home, or $4,473 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. That is about $3.5M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 15% 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area was 12,756 in 2023, up 5.9% from 2019. That is one for every 353 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. Another 2,227 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 442 SBA-backed loans worth $218.5M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area is 47 (lower middle), #213 of 387 scored metro areas and #17 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.812.913.3
Spending per listing$3.5M$3.5M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)353392478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.9%+6.5%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,473$4,559$4,070
Median household income$95,958$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score4749

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12,756All limited-service restaurants · +5.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
218,098
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.7B
One-person businesses, 2023
2,227All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5,7444,358 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6,597The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
442
Amount
$218.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
12,844,441−2.6% since 2020
Households
4,499,409
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
48%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
4,854 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2,673
Median household income
$95,958+31.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$135,506
Median home value
$871,300
Jobs located here
6,588,635
Daytime population
13,463,378Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in California, with the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA7421411.2$4.2M−0.4%#49 of 387
2Napa, CA735811.7$4.2M−3.3%#53 of 387
3Yuba City, CA736210.0$3.9M+3.3%#54 of 387
4Vallejo, CA6520212.8$3.5M+0.6%#100 of 387
5Stockton-Lodi, CA6233013.5$3.2M+5.5%#121 of 387
6San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA6177711.4$5M−0.6%#124 of 387
7Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA611,13512.9$3.5M+3.2%#127 of 387
8Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA6011411.8$4.1M−4.7%#132 of 387
9San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA591,89210.8$4.9M−2.4%#137 of 387
10Redding, CA597911.1$3.4M−0.3%#138 of 387
17Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA475,74412.8$3.5M−2.6%#213 of 387

Other business types in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area?

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area has 5,744 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 4,358 of them (76%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 12,756 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 5.9% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts list 2,227 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $20.1B a year, or $4,473 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5,744 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.5M 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 4,499,409 households in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area has 12.8 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.5M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area would have about 6,597, against 5,744 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 353 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area at 12,844,441 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,499,409 households. The median household income in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area is $95,958 a year, 19% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.5% 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area scores 47 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #213 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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.