Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Kansas

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Hays, KS area

How the Hays, 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 31 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #442 of 537 scored small-town markets
#10 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas

Listings
21
19 chain locations (90%)
Official establishments
32
All limited-service restaurants · −5.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$43M
On food away from home · $3,507 a household
Spending per listing
$2M
33% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.1
29% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
29,075
+0.4% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Hays 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 Hays area. 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

For fast food and sandwich shops, the Hays area has a Groundwork market score of 31 (lower middle): #442 of 537 scored small-town markets and #10 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 fast food and sandwich shops in the Hays area. 19 of them (90%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 17.1 per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Households in the Hays area spend about $43M a year on food away from home, or $3,507 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2M per shop, 33% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Hays area was 32 in 2023, down 5.9% from 2019. That is one for every 383 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, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.4M has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Hays area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Hays area grew 0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Hays 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Hays, KS area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureHays areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.114.213.3
Spending per listing$2M$2.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)383526478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−5.9%+4.7%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,507$3,910$4,070
Median household income$63,084$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score3144

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
32All limited-service restaurants · −5.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
525
Annual payroll, 2023
$10.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2119 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Hays 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 Hays area

Population, 2025 estimate
29,075+0.4% since 2020
Households
12,251
Median age
36.5
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
900 sq. mi.
People per square mile
32
Median household income
$63,084+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,365
Median home value
$216,300
Jobs located here
15,340
Daytime population
30,752Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Hays 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 Hays area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Fast 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 Hays area marked.

Top small-town markets in Kansas

Small-town markets in Kansas ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ottawa, KS7798.6$4.3M+1.1%#43 of 537
2McPherson, KS651411.5$3.3M−0.4%#129 of 537
3Atchison, KS62712.2$2.8M−0.9%#163 of 537
4Great Bend, KS58109.6$3.5M−2.5%#199 of 537
5Arkansas City-Winfield, KS521511.2$3M−0.4%#255 of 537
6Pittsburg, KS482213.9$2.3M+0.1%#292 of 537
7Garden City, KS462015.1$2.5M−2.1%#311 of 537
8Dodge City, KS462017.0$2.2M−0.6%#316 of 537
9Hutchinson, KS384116.0$2.1M−0.6%#386 of 537
10Hays, KS312117.1$2M+0.4%#442 of 537

Other business types in the Hays area

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 the Hays, KS area?

There are 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Hays area as of September 2026. 19 of them (90%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, down 5.9% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops.

How much do households in the Hays, KS area spend on food away from home?

About $43M a year, or $3,507 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2M 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 12,251 households in the Hays area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Hays, KS area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Hays area has 17.1 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2M, 33% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Hays area would have about 14, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 383 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Hays, KS area growing?

Population estimates put the Hays area at 29,075 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,251 households. The median household income in the Hays area is $63,084 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 19.3% 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 Hays area scores 31 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #442 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 Hays 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 Hays area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hays 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 Hays area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Run a site report See plans
Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Screening many markets at once? Talk to us

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.