Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Fast food and sandwich shops in Bureau County, IL

How Bureau County, IL 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 68 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #423 of 2,222 scored counties
#7 of 80 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
12
11 chain locations (92%)
Official establishments
15
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$51.2M
On food away from home · $3,647 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
40% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.6
35% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
32,510
−2.1% since 2020

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

Household spending on food away from home in Bureau County comes to about $51.2M a year: $3,647 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4.3M per shop, 40% above 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 12 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in Bureau County as of September 2026. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 92%, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.6, 35% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 15 businesses with payroll in Bureau County classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 935 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. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show Bureau County declined 2.1% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Bureau County scores 68 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #423 of 2,222 scored counties and #7 of 80 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Bureau County compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Bureau County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureBureau CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.613.613.3
Spending per listing$4.3M$3.1M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)935474478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.1%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,647$4,215$4,070
Median household income$69,257$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score6841

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11 → 15All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
309
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
4All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1211 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The 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 Bureau 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 Bureau County

Population, 2025 estimate
32,510−2.1% since 2020
Households
14,028
Median age
44.2
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
869 sq. mi.
People per square mile
38
Median household income
$69,257+20.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,255
Median home value
$126,900
Jobs located here
10,627
Daytime population
28,480Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Bureau 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 Bureau 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

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

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Piatt County, IL80710.1$4.2M+0.6%#130 of 2,222
2Woodford County, IL79138.9$4.9M−0.8%#142 of 2,222
3Moultrie County, IL7358.6$4.3M−0.8%#277 of 2,222
4Bond County, IL7158.1$4.5M+0.6%#326 of 2,222
5Kendall County, IL715612.3$3.9M+9.9%#331 of 2,222
6McHenry County, IL7013311.3$4.2M+2.5%#355 of 2,222
7Bureau County, IL68128.6$4.3M−2.1%#423 of 2,222
8Monroe County, IL681712.3$3.8M−0.3%#431 of 2,222
9Clinton County, IL682013.7$3M+0.6%#452 of 2,222
10Macoupin County, IL67169.1$4.2M−2.6%#465 of 2,222

Other business types in Bureau County

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Bureau County, IL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 12 fast food and sandwich shops in Bureau County. 11 of them (92%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 15 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 list 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Bureau County, IL spend on food away from home?

About $51.2M a year, or $3,647 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $4.3M 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 14,028 households in Bureau County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Bureau County has 8.6 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $4.3M, 40% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Bureau County would have about 17, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 935 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Bureau County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Bureau County at 32,510 people in 2025, down 2.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,028 households. Median household income in Bureau County is $69,257, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.6%, 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. 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. Bureau County scores 68 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #423 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Bureau County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.