Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Kansas

Fast food and sandwich shops in the McPherson, KS area

How the McPherson, 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #129 of 537 scored small-town markets
#2 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas

Listings
14
12 chain locations (86%)
Official establishments
22
All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$46.5M
On food away from home · $3,822 a household
Spending per listing
$3.3M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.5
14% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
30,064
−0.4% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 fast food and sandwich shops in the McPherson area. Chain locations make up 86% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 11.5 for every 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

At $3,822 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the McPherson area spend about $46.5M a year on food away from home. Spread across 14 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $3.3M per shop, 9% 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 McPherson area was 22 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 553 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.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the McPherson area declined 0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For fast food and sandwich shops, the McPherson area has a Groundwork market score of 65 (upper middle): #129 of 537 scored small-town markets and #2 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the McPherson 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 McPherson, KS area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureMcPherson areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.514.213.3
Spending per listing$3.3M$2.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)553526478
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+4.7%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,822$3,910$4,070
Median household income$78,851$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score6544

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
22All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
416
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1412 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The 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 the McPherson 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 McPherson area

Population, 2025 estimate
30,064−0.4% since 2020
Households
12,162
Median age
40.2
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
898 sq. mi.
People per square mile
34
Median household income
$78,851+33.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,169
Median home value
$211,200
Jobs located here
16,543
Daytime population
32,591Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the McPherson 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 McPherson area. 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 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 McPherson 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 McPherson area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the McPherson, KS area?

There are 14 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the McPherson area as of September 2026. 12 of them (86%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged 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 McPherson, KS area spend on food away from home?

About $46.5M a year, or $3,822 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.3M 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 12,162 households in the McPherson area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The McPherson area has 11.5 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.3M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the McPherson area would have about 15, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 553 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the McPherson, KS area growing?

Population estimates put the McPherson area at 30,064 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,162 households. The median household income in the McPherson area is $78,851 a year, 2% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.4% 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 McPherson area scores 65 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #129 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 McPherson 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 McPherson area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the McPherson 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 McPherson 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.