Food and drink · Metro area · California
Fast food and sandwich shops in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area
How the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #124 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 777
- 599 chain locations (77%)
- Official establishments
- 1,647
- All limited-service restaurants · +1.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $3.9B
- On food away from home · $5,759 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5M
- 65% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.4
- 14% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,984,473
- −0.6% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro 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 777 fast food and sandwich shops in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. Of those, 599 are chain locations, or 77%, against 79% across the U.S. That is 11.4 per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area comes to about $3.9B a year: $5,759 per household, 41% above the U.S. average. That works out to $5M per shop, 65% 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 1,647 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area in 2023, up 1.5% from 2019. That is one for every 413 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 300 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 37 SBA-backed loans worth $26M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area declined 0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area is 61 (upper middle), #124 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.
| Measure | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.4 | 12.9 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $5M | $3.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 413 | 392 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +1.5% | +6.5% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $5,759 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $162,111 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,647All limited-service restaurants · +1.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 28,627
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $807M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 300All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 777599 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,283The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 37
- Amount
- $26M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,984,473−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 679,914
- Median age
- 39.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 2,680 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 735
- Median household income
- $162,111+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $224,488
- Median home value
- $1,447,800
- Jobs located here
- 1,157,383
- Daytime population
- 2,140,529Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro 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 metro areas in California for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in California, with the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 74 | 214 | 11.2 | $4.2M | −0.4% | #49 of 387 |
| 2Napa, CA | 73 | 58 | 11.7 | $4.2M | −3.3% | #53 of 387 |
| 3Yuba City, CA | 73 | 62 | 10.0 | $3.9M | +3.3% | #54 of 387 |
| 4Vallejo, CA | 65 | 202 | 12.8 | $3.5M | +0.6% | #100 of 387 |
| 5Stockton-Lodi, CA | 62 | 330 | 13.5 | $3.2M | +5.5% | #121 of 387 |
| 6San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 61 | 777 | 11.4 | $5M | −0.6% | #124 of 387 |
| 7Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 61 | 1,135 | 12.9 | $3.5M | +3.2% | #127 of 387 |
| 8Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 60 | 114 | 11.8 | $4.1M | −4.7% | #132 of 387 |
| 9San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 59 | 1,892 | 10.8 | $4.9M | −2.4% | #137 of 387 |
| 10Redding, CA | 59 | 79 | 11.1 | $3.4M | −0.3% | #138 of 387 |
Other business types in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes56
- Sit-down restaurants45
- Fast food and sandwich shops61
- Pizza61
- Coffee shops and cafes36
- Bakeries and dessert shops52
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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area?
There are 777 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area as of September 2026. 599 of them (77%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 1,647 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 1.5% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts list 300 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $3.9B a year, or $5,759 per household. That is 41% above the U.S. average (an index of 141, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 777 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $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 679,914 households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area has 11.4 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $5M, 65% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area would have about 1,283, against 777 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 413 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area at 1,984,473 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 679,914 households. The median household income in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area is $162,111 a year, twice the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.4% 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area scores 61 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #124 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.