Food and drink · Metro area · Delaware
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Dover, DE metro area
How the Dover, DE 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 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #116 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware
- Listings
- 86
- 73 chain locations (85%)
- Official establishments
- 137
- All limited-service restaurants · +16.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $265.5M
- On food away from home · $3,717 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.1M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.0
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 194,786
- +6.8% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Dover 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 Dover 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Dover metro area comes to about $265.5M a year: $3,717 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 86 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $3.1M per shop, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
There are 86 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Dover metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 85% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 12.0 for every 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Dover metro area was 137 in 2023, up 16.1% from 2019. That is one for every 521 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 list 27 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.6M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Dover metro area.
Population estimates show the Dover metro area grew 6.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For fast food and sandwich shops, the Dover metro area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #116 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware.
How the Dover metro area compares
The same measures for Delaware 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 | Dover metro area | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.0 | 11.9 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $3.1M | $3.4M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 521 | 475 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +16.1% | +10.0% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.8% | +6.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,717 | $4,092 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $74,477 | $84,954 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 63 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 137All limited-service restaurants · +16.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,480
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $57.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 27All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8673 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 87The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Dover 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 Dover metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 194,786+6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 71,424
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 586 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 320
- Median household income
- $74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,801
- Median home value
- $316,600
- Jobs located here
- 66,799
- Daytime population
- 177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dover 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 Dover 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 Delaware
Every Delaware market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Delaware
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 66 | 2,777 | 11.3 | $3.9M | +1.4% | #98 of 387 |
| 1Dover, DE | 63 | 86 | 12.0 | $3.1M | +6.8% | #116 of 387 |
Other business types in the Dover metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes73
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops63
- Pizza48
- Coffee shops and cafes79
- Bakeries and dessert shops63
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 Dover, DE metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 86 fast food and sandwich shops in the Dover metro area. 73 of them (85%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 137 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 16.1% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Official counts also show 27 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on food away from home?
About $265.5M a year, or $3,717 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 86 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Dover metro area has 12.0 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.1M, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 87, against 86 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 521 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 16.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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. The Dover metro area scores 63 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #116 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.