Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Kansas

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Wichita, KS metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for fast food and sandwich shops in the Wichita, KS metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #296 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas

Listings
400
365 chain locations (91%)
Official establishments
581
All limited-service restaurants · +6.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$958.2M
On food away from home · $3,761 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
21% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.7
18% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
663,809
+2.4% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Wichita 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 Wichita metro 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

The Wichita metro area scores 33 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #296 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 400 fast food and sandwich shops in the Wichita metro area. Chain locations make up 91% of them, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 15.7, 18% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

At $3,761 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Wichita metro area spend about $958.2M a year on food away from home. That is about $2.4M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 21% 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 Wichita metro area was 581 in 2023, up 6.6% from 2019. That is one for every 439 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, 21 SBA-backed loans worth $13.3M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Wichita metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Wichita metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Wichita metro 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 Wichita, KS metro area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureWichita metro areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.714.213.3
Spending per listing$2.4M$2.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)439526478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.6%+4.7%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.4%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,761$3,910$4,070
Median household income$70,655$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score3344

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
581All limited-service restaurants · +6.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
12,236
Annual payroll, 2023
$224.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
56All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
400365 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
314The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
21
Amount
$13.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
663,809+2.4% since 2020
Households
254,776
Median age
37.8
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
4,148 sq. mi.
People per square mile
157
Median household income
$70,655+23.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,221
Median home value
$201,200
Jobs located here
300,232
Daytime population
657,026Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Wichita 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 Wichita metro 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 metro areas in Kansas for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Kansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Wichita metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Kansas

Metro areas in Kansas ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Kansas City, MO-KS691,19113.3$3.1M+3.4%#77 of 387
1Topeka, KS5712212.6$3M+0.1%#158 of 387
2Manhattan, KS427715.0$2.4M+1.4%#247 of 387
3Lawrence, KS417414.7$2.6M+1.8%#252 of 387
4Wichita, KS3340015.7$2.4M+2.4%#296 of 387
Joplin, MO-KS3213116.5$2.1M+3.9%#304 of 387
St. Joseph, MO-KS276714.3$2.5M−2.0%#328 of 387

Other business types in the Wichita metro 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 Wichita, KS metro area?

The Wichita metro area has 400 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 365 of them (91%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 581 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 6.6% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Another 56 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $958.2M a year, or $3,761 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 400 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 254,776 households in the Wichita metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Wichita metro area has 15.7 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.4M, 21% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Wichita metro area would have about 314, against 400 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 439 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Wichita, KS metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Wichita metro area at 663,809 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 254,776 households. The median household income in the Wichita metro area is $70,655 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.1% 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 Wichita metro area scores 33 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #296 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 Wichita 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 Wichita metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wichita 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 Wichita 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.