Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Georgia

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Fitzgerald, GA area

The fast food and sandwich shops in the Fitzgerald, GA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #426 of 537 scored small-town markets
#12 of 23 scored small-town markets based in Georgia

Listings
7
6 chain locations (86%)
Official establishments
16
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$19.6M
On food away from home · $2,769 a household
Spending per listing
$2.8M
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.9
26% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
17,099
−0.4% since 2020

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

For fast food and sandwich shops, the Fitzgerald area has a Groundwork market score of 33 (lower middle): #426 of 537 scored small-town markets and #12 of 23 scored small-town markets based in Georgia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Households in the Fitzgerald area spend about $19.6M a year on food away from home, or $2,769 per household, 32% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.8M per shop, 8% below 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 7 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Fitzgerald area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 86% of them, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.9, 26% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 16 businesses with payroll in the Fitzgerald area classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 443 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. Population estimates put the population change in the Fitzgerald area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Fitzgerald area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Fitzgerald, GA area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureFitzgerald areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.915.813.3
Spending per listing$2.8M$2.5M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)443419478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,769$3,917$4,070
Median household income$41,758$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score3334

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
16All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
247
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
6All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
76 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
17,099−0.4% since 2020
Households
7,082
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
250 sq. mi.
People per square mile
68
Median household income
$41,758+29.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$56,193
Median home value
$112,700
Jobs located here
5,834
Daytime population
16,434Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald 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 Georgia

Every Georgia market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Georgia

Small-town markets in Georgia ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Jefferson, GA655419.0$2.2M+29.3%#138 of 537
2Thomaston, GA491312.3$2.6M+2.7%#283 of 537
3Kingsland, GA493817.5$2.1M+9.5%#289 of 537
4Thomasville, GA473311.5$2.9M+1.3%#296 of 537
5Moultrie, GA472313.7$2.3M+3.3%#303 of 537
6Summerville, GA471213.1$2.2M+1.5%#306 of 537
7Calhoun, GA464018.7$1.9M+6.9%#318 of 537
8Cornelia, GA453319.7$1.8M+9.3%#329 of 537
9Douglas, GA412815.1$2M+2.9%#364 of 537
10Statesboro, GA375616.0$2M+8.0%#390 of 537
12Fitzgerald, GA3379.9$2.8M−0.4%#426 of 537

Other business types in the Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald, GA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 7 fast food and sandwich shops in the Fitzgerald area. 6 of them (86%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. 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 6 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Fitzgerald, GA area spend on food away from home?

About $19.6M a year, or $2,769 per household. That is 32% below the U.S. average (an index of 68, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 7,082 households in the Fitzgerald area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fitzgerald, GA area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Fitzgerald area has 9.9 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.8M, 8% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Fitzgerald area would have about 6, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 443 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is the Fitzgerald, GA area growing?

Population estimates put the Fitzgerald area at 17,099 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,082 households. Median household income in the Fitzgerald area is $41,758, 48% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.6%, 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 Fitzgerald area scores 33 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #426 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 Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald 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.