Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Fast food and sandwich shops in Clark County, KY

How Clark County, KY compares with other counties and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #977 of 2,222 scored counties
#23 of 82 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
16
15 chain locations (94%)
Official establishments
29
All limited-service restaurants · +7.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$52M
On food away from home · $3,453 a household
Spending per listing
$3.2M
6% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.6
20% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
37,888
+2.3% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Clark County

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 Clark County. 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

Household spending on food away from home in Clark County comes to about $52M a year: $3,453 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.2M per shop, 6% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

Clark County has 16 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 94% of them, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.6, 20% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Clark County was 29 in 2023, up 7.4% from 2019. That is one for every 519 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.9M has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Clark County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Clark County grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For fast food and sandwich shops, Clark County has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #977 of 2,222 scored counties and #23 of 82 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Clark County compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Clark County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureClark CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.614.813.3
Spending per listing$3.2M$2.4M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)519519478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+7.4%+5.7%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,453$3,489$4,070
Median household income$64,348$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5428

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
27 → 29All limited-service restaurants · +7.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
664
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
3All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1615 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Clark County, 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 Clark County

Population, 2025 estimate
37,888+2.3% since 2020
Households
15,055
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
253 sq. mi.
People per square mile
147
Median household income
$64,348+17.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$91,280
Median home value
$205,800
Jobs located here
13,487
Daytime population
34,107Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clark County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Clark County. 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Clark County marked.

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Spencer County, KY90810.9$4M+7.7%#16 of 2,222
2Oldham County, KY832611.3$4.4M+4.9%#88 of 2,222
3Meade County, KY7698.2$4.6M+2.2%#206 of 2,222
4Allen County, KY7467.5$4.3M+9.5%#248 of 2,222
5Garrard County, KY7369.0$3.6M+7.3%#288 of 2,222
6Kenton County, KY728011.9$3.4M+3.9%#316 of 2,222
7Lincoln County, KY6988.2$3.8M+4.6%#401 of 2,222
8Scott County, KY693113.7$3M+8.2%#414 of 2,222
9Nelson County, KY68199.9$3.6M+4.8%#436 of 2,222
10Larue County, KY6758.3$4M+2.1%#467 of 2,222
23Clark County, KY541610.6$3.2M+2.3%#977 of 2,222

Other business types in Clark County

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 Clark County, KY?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 16 fast food and sandwich shops in Clark County. 15 of them (94%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 7.4% from 2019. 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.

How much do households in Clark County, KY spend on food away from home?

About $52M a year, or $3,453 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.2M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,055 households in Clark County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Clark County, KY compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

Clark County has 10.6 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.2M, 6% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Clark County would have about 17, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 519 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Clark County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Clark County at 37,888 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,055 households. Median household income in Clark County is $64,348, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 17.1%, 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. Clark County scores 54 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #977 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Clark County. 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 Clark County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clark County?

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 Clark County. 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.