Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Fast food and sandwich shops in Carroll County, IL

How Carroll 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 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #608 of 2,222 scored counties
#16 of 80 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
6
5 chain locations (83%)
Official establishments
6
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$22.5M
On food away from home · $3,423 a household
Spending per listing
$3.8M
23% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.1
32% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
15,419
−1.7% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Carroll 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County comes to about $22.5M a year: $3,423 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.8M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 23% 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 6 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in Carroll County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 83% of them, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.1, 32% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in Carroll County classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 1,096 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 Carroll County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in Carroll County is 63 (upper middle), #608 of 2,222 scored counties and #16 of 80 scored counties in Illinois.

How Carroll 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 Carroll County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureCarroll CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.113.613.3
Spending per listing$3.8M$3.1M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)1,096474478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.7%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,423$4,215$4,070
Median household income$60,758$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score6341

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6 → 6All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
93
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
65 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
7The 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County

Population, 2025 estimate
15,419−1.7% since 2020
Households
6,578
Median age
46.4
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
445 sq. mi.
People per square mile
35
Median household income
$60,758+15.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,693
Median home value
$114,500
Jobs located here
3,756
Daytime population
12,996Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Carroll 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 Carroll 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 Carroll 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
16Carroll County, IL6369.1$3.8M−1.7%#608 of 2,222

Other business types in Carroll 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 Carroll County, IL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 fast food and sandwich shops in Carroll County. 5 of them (83%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 6 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.

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

About $22.5M a year, or $3,423 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 6,578 households in Carroll County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Carroll County has 9.1 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.8M, 23% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Carroll County would have about 7, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,096 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Carroll County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Carroll County at 15,419 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,578 households. Median household income in Carroll County is $60,758, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.9%, 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. Carroll County scores 63 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #608 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Carroll 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.