Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Fast food and sandwich shops in Fayette County, IL

How Fayette 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 30 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,847 of 2,222 scored counties
#70 of 80 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
13
13 chain locations (100%)
Official establishments
14
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$27M
On food away from home · $3,454 a household
Spending per listing
$2.1M
32% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.6
25% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,790
−3.2% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Fayette 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 Fayette County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in Fayette County is 30 (lower middle), #1,847 of 2,222 scored counties and #70 of 80 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Households in Fayette County spend about $27M a year on food away from home, or $3,454 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 32% 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 13 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in Fayette County as of September 2026. All of them are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 16.6 per 10,000 households, 25% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in Fayette County classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 558 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. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Fayette County declined 3.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Fayette 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 Fayette County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureFayette CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.613.613.3
Spending per listing$2.1M$3.1M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)558474478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.2%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,454$4,215$4,070
Median household income$60,944$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3041

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14 → 14All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
312
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1313 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The 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 Fayette 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 Fayette County

Population, 2025 estimate
20,790−3.2% since 2020
Households
7,814
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
81%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
717 sq. mi.
People per square mile
30
Median household income
$60,944+30.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,392
Median home value
$130,700
Jobs located here
5,743
Daytime population
18,068Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Fayette 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 Fayette 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 Fayette 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
70Fayette County, IL301316.6$2.1M−3.2%#1,847 of 2,222

Other business types in Fayette 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 Fayette County, IL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 13 fast food and sandwich shops in Fayette County. 13 of them (100%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 14 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 Fayette County, IL spend on food away from home?

About $27M a year, or $3,454 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.1M 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 7,814 households in Fayette County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Fayette County has 16.6 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 25% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.1M, 32% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Fayette County would have about 9, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 558 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Fayette County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Fayette County at 20,790 people in 2025, down 3.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,814 households. Median household income in Fayette County is $60,944, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.6%, 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. Fayette County scores 30 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #1,847 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Fayette 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 Fayette 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.