Food and drink · Small-town market · Kansas
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Great Bend, KS area
How the Great Bend, KS area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #199 of 537 scored small-town markets
#4 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas
- Listings
- 10
- 10 chain locations (100%)
- Official establishments
- 16
- All limited-service restaurants
- Household spending a year
- $34.7M
- On food away from home · $3,346 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.5M
- 14% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.6
- 28% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 24,790
- −2.5% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 10 fast food and sandwich shops in the Great Bend area. All of them are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 9.6 per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
Households in the Great Bend area spend about $34.7M a year on food away from home, or $3,346 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.5M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 14% above 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Great Bend area was 16 in 2023. That is one for every 649 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. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Great Bend area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Great Bend area declined 2.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Great Bend area scores 58 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #199 of 537 scored small-town markets and #4 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas.
How the Great Bend area compares
The same measures for Kansas 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 | Great Bend area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.6 | 14.2 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $3.5M | $2.8M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 649 | 526 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.7% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.5% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,346 | $3,910 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $58,851 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 58 | 44 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 16All limited-service restaurants
- Employees, 2023
- 315
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1010 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $1.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 24,790−2.5% since 2020
- Households
- 10,380
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 895 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 28
- Median household income
- $58,851+18.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,743
- Median home value
- $126,400
- Jobs located here
- 11,401
- Daytime population
- 24,199Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend 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 Kansas
Every Kansas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Great Bend area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ottawa, KS | 77 | 9 | 8.6 | $4.3M | +1.1% | #43 of 537 |
| 2McPherson, KS | 65 | 14 | 11.5 | $3.3M | −0.4% | #129 of 537 |
| 3Atchison, KS | 62 | 7 | 12.2 | $2.8M | −0.9% | #163 of 537 |
| 4Great Bend, KS | 58 | 10 | 9.6 | $3.5M | −2.5% | #199 of 537 |
| 5Arkansas City-Winfield, KS | 52 | 15 | 11.2 | $3M | −0.4% | #255 of 537 |
| 6Pittsburg, KS | 48 | 22 | 13.9 | $2.3M | +0.1% | #292 of 537 |
| 7Garden City, KS | 46 | 20 | 15.1 | $2.5M | −2.1% | #311 of 537 |
| 8Dodge City, KS | 46 | 20 | 17.0 | $2.2M | −0.6% | #316 of 537 |
| 9Hutchinson, KS | 38 | 41 | 16.0 | $2.1M | −0.6% | #386 of 537 |
| 10Hays, KS | 31 | 21 | 17.1 | $2M | +0.4% | #442 of 537 |
Other business types in the Great Bend area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes34
- Sit-down restaurants27
- Fast food and sandwich shops58
- Pizza34
- Coffee shops and cafes43
- Bakeries and dessert shops30
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 Great Bend, KS area?
The Great Bend area has 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (100%) 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. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Great Bend, KS area spend on food away from home?
About $34.7M a year, or $3,346 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.5M 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 10,380 households in the Great Bend area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Great Bend, KS area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Great Bend area has 9.6 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.5M, 14% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Great Bend area would have about 11, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 649 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.
How fast is the Great Bend, KS area growing?
Population estimates put the Great Bend area at 24,790 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,380 households. The median household income in the Great Bend area is $58,851 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.4% 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. 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 Great Bend area scores 58 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #199 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 Great Bend 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 Great Bend area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Great Bend 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 Great Bend 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.