Food and drink · Metro area · Illinois
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Rockford, IL metro area
How the Rockford, IL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #294 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 206
- 180 chain locations (87%)
- Official establishments
- 278
- All limited-service restaurants · +6.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $500.8M
- On food away from home · $3,697 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.4M
- 20% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.2
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 337,242
- −0.3% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Rockford metro 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 Rockford metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 Rockford metro area has a Groundwork market score of 33 (lower middle): #294 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 206 fast food and sandwich shops in the Rockford metro area. Of those, 180 are chain locations, or 87%, against 79% across the U.S. That is 15.2 per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.
At $3,697 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Rockford metro area spend about $500.8M a year on food away from home. Spread across 206 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.4M per shop, 20% below 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 278 businesses with payroll in the Rockford metro area classed as limited-service restaurants, up 6.5% from 2019. That is one for every 487 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, 11 SBA-backed loans worth $4.2M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Rockford metro area. Population estimates show the Rockford metro area declined 0.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Rockford metro area 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.
| Measure | Rockford metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.2 | 13.6 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.4M | $3.1M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 487 | 474 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.5% | +2.0% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.3% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,697 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,033 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 33 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 278All limited-service restaurants · +6.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,962
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $110.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 51All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 206180 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 164The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 11
- Amount
- $4.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Rockford metro 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 Rockford metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 337,242−0.3% since 2020
- Households
- 135,474
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 794 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 424
- Median household income
- $68,033+21.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,321
- Median home value
- $171,300
- Jobs located here
- 135,218
- Daytime population
- 319,715Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Rockford metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Rockford metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Rockford metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Peoria, IL | 60 | 180 | 11.7 | $3.3M | −1.3% | #133 of 387 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 55 | 1,533 | 13.2 | $3.1M | −0.2% | #163 of 387 |
| 2Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 53 | 4,994 | 13.7 | $3.2M | 0.0% | #177 of 387 |
| 3Bloomington, IL | 46 | 106 | 15.1 | $2.7M | +0.1% | #222 of 387 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 45 | 221 | 13.7 | $2.8M | −0.9% | #227 of 387 |
| 4Kankakee, IL | 43 | 57 | 13.9 | $2.8M | −1.7% | #240 of 387 |
| 5Decatur, IL | 38 | 60 | 13.8 | $2.6M | −4.3% | #271 of 387 |
| 6Champaign-Urbana, IL | 36 | 143 | 14.6 | $2.6M | +1.5% | #280 of 387 |
| 7Springfield, IL | 35 | 136 | 15.1 | $2.6M | −1.2% | #285 of 387 |
| 8Rockford, IL | 33 | 206 | 15.2 | $2.4M | −0.3% | #294 of 387 |
Other business types in the Rockford metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes52
- Sit-down restaurants52
- Fast food and sandwich shops33
- Pizza39
- Coffee shops and cafes67
- Bakeries and dessert shops55
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Rockford, IL metro area?
There are 206 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Rockford metro area as of September 2026. 180 of them (87%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 278 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 6.5% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts list 51 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Rockford, IL metro area spend on food away from home?
About $500.8M a year, or $3,697 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 206 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.4M 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 135,474 households in the Rockford metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Rockford, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Rockford metro area has 15.2 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.4M, 20% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Rockford metro area would have about 164, against 206 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 487 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Rockford, IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Rockford metro area at 337,242 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 135,474 households. The median household income in the Rockford metro area is $68,033 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.4% 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. The Rockford metro area scores 33 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #294 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Rockford metro 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 Rockford metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rockford metro 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 Rockford metro 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.