Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Florida

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Lake City, FL area

How the Lake City, FL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #307 of 537 scored small-town markets
#6 of 6 scored small-town markets based in Florida

Listings
42
40 chain locations (95%)
Official establishments
50
All limited-service restaurants · +8.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$90.5M
On food away from home · $3,300 a household
Spending per listing
$2.2M
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.3
15% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
74,094
+6.2% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Lake City 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 Lake City 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 42 fast food and sandwich shops in the Lake City area. Of those, 40 are chain locations, or 95%, against 79% across the U.S. That is 15.3 per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Households in the Lake City area spend about $90.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,300 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 29% 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.

Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Lake City area in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. That is one for every 549 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 12 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $213K has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Lake City area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Lake City area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For fast food and sandwich shops, the Lake City area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #307 of 537 scored small-town markets and #6 of 6 scored small-town markets based in Florida.

How the Lake City area compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Lake City, FL area compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureLake City areaFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.312.213.3
Spending per listing$2.2M$3.2M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)549548478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.7%+12.5%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.2%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,300$3,841$4,070
Median household income$59,205$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score4764

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
50All limited-service restaurants · +8.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,082
Annual payroll, 2023
$19.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
12All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
4240 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
30The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$213K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Lake City 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 Lake City area

Population, 2025 estimate
74,094+6.2% since 2020
Households
27,430
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
797 sq. mi.
People per square mile
90
Median household income
$59,205+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,718
Median home value
$194,900
Jobs located here
24,625
Daytime population
67,243Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lake City 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 Lake City 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 Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Florida for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Florida, with the Lake City area marked.

Top small-town markets in Florida

Small-town markets in Florida ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Arcadia, FL71129.4$3.2M+8.8%#81 of 537
2Clewiston, FL692312.3$2.7M+18.8%#94 of 537
3Palatka, FL613711.8$2.6M+5.9%#169 of 537
4Okeechobee, FL503120.5$1.6M+7.4%#281 of 537
5Key West-Key Largo, FL475415.7$2.7M−2.9%#298 of 537
6Lake City, FL474215.3$2.2M+6.2%#307 of 537

Other business types in the Lake City 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 Lake City, FL area?

There are 42 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Lake City area as of September 2026. 40 of them (95%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Lake City, FL area spend on food away from home?

About $90.5M a year, or $3,300 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 42 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 27,430 households in the Lake City area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Lake City, FL area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Lake City area has 15.3 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.2M, 29% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Lake City area would have about 30, against 42 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 549 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Lake City, FL area growing?

Population estimates put the Lake City area at 74,094 people in 2025, up 6.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,430 households. The median household income in the Lake City area is $59,205 a year, 27% 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 Lake City area scores 47 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #307 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 Lake City 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 Lake City area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lake City 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 Lake City 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.