Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Florida

Fast food and sandwich shops in Lee County, FL

How Lee County, FL 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 80 out of 100: High

Ranked #134 of 2,222 scored counties
#10 of 62 scored counties in Florida

Listings
344
265 chain locations (77%)
Official establishments
472
All limited-service restaurants · +9.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.3B
On food away from home · $3,845 a household
Spending per listing
$3.7M
20% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.5
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
875,607
+14.4% since 2020

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

Lee County scores 80 (high) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #134 of 2,222 scored counties and #10 of 62 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for fast food and sandwich shops.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 344 fast food and sandwich shops in Lee County. 265 of them (77%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.5, 21% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Lee County comes to about $1.3B a year: $3,845 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.7M per shop, 20% 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 472 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Lee County in 2023, up 9.0% from 2019. That is one for every 694 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, 17 SBA-backed loans worth $8.4M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Lee County. Population estimates show Lee County grew 14.4% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Lee County 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 Lee County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureLee CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.512.213.3
Spending per listing$3.7M$3.2M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)694548478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.0%+12.5%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+14.4%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,845$3,841$4,070
Median household income$76,107$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score8064

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
433 → 472All limited-service restaurants · +9.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
9,040
Annual payroll, 2023
$181.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
122All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
344265 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
413The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
17
Amount
$8.4M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
875,607+14.4% since 2020
Households
327,803
Median age
48.0
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
781 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,047
Median household income
$76,107+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,469
Median home value
$362,200
Jobs located here
293,056
Daytime population
793,827Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lee 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 Lee 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 Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

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

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sarasota County, FL872009.4$4.3M+10.0%#34 of 2,222
2Sumter County, FL87649.1$4.1M+21.1%#36 of 2,222
3Flagler County, FL85478.9$4.3M+21.0%#59 of 2,222
4Collier County, FL8516610.0$4.3M+10.6%#60 of 2,222
5Wakulla County, FL851310.2$3.7M+12.3%#63 of 2,222
6Charlotte County, FL84768.4$4.3M+15.5%#80 of 2,222
7Manatee County, FL8218310.4$3.8M+16.6%#100 of 2,222
8St. Johns County, FL8012711.0$4.4M+25.0%#125 of 2,222
9Indian River County, FL807210.2$3.8M+7.7%#132 of 2,222
10Lee County, FL8034410.5$3.7M+14.4%#134 of 2,222

Other business types in Lee County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Lee County, FL?

There are 344 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in Lee County as of September 2026. 265 of them (77%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 472 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 9.0% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts list 122 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Lee County, FL spend on food away from home?

About $1.3B a year, or $3,845 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 344 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 327,803 households in Lee County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Lee County has 10.5 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.7M, 20% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Lee County would have about 413, against 344 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 694 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Lee County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Lee County at 875,607 people in 2025, up 14.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 327,803 households. The median household income in Lee County is $76,107 a year, 6% 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. Lee County scores 80 for fast food and sandwich shops (high), #134 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lee County?

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 Lee County. 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.