Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Louisiana

Fast food and sandwich shops in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area

The fast food and sandwich shops in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 21 out of 100: Low

Ranked #353 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana

Listings
568
429 chain locations (76%)
Official establishments
916
All limited-service restaurants · +4.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.4B
On food away from home · $3,552 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.3
8% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
970,849
−3.4% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the New Orleans-Metairie 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 New Orleans-Metairie 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

For fast food and sandwich shops, the New Orleans-Metairie metro area has a Groundwork market score of 21 (low): #353 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area spend about $1.4B a year on food away from home, or $3,552 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

There are 568 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 429 are chain locations, or 76%, against 79% across the U.S. That is 14.3 per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area was 916 in 2023, up 4.2% from 2019. That is one for every 435 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. Since fiscal 2022, 19 SBA-backed loans worth $10M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the New Orleans-Metairie metro area declined 3.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the New Orleans-Metairie metro area compares

The same measures for Louisiana 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area compared with Louisiana and the U.S.
MeasureNew Orleans-Metairie metro areaLouisianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.314.713.3
Spending per listing$2.5M$2.4M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)435480478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.2%+5.1%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.4%−0.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,552$3,469$4,070
Median household income$62,655$60,756$80,734
Groundwork market score2113

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
916All limited-service restaurants · +4.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
15,170
Annual payroll, 2023
$316.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
230All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
568429 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
464The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
19
Amount
$10M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the New Orleans-Metairie 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 New Orleans-Metairie metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
970,849−3.4% since 2020
Households
398,564
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.5
Land area
2,359 sq. mi.
People per square mile
416
Median household income
$62,655
Average household income
$91,916
Median home value
$260,200
Jobs located here
463,433
Daytime population
1,032,273Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the New Orleans-Metairie 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 New Orleans-Metairie 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 Louisiana

Every Louisiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Louisiana for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Louisiana, with the New Orleans-Metairie metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Louisiana

Metro areas in Louisiana ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA6214113.4$3M+5.3%#123 of 387
2Hammond, LA388115.6$2.1M+5.8%#274 of 387
3Baton Rouge, LA3250115.1$2.5M+2.1%#300 of 387
4Lafayette, LA3225015.2$2.3M+3.8%#303 of 387
5Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA2713516.9$2.1M−3.5%#331 of 387
6Monroe, LA2513215.2$2.1M−1.9%#342 of 387
7New Orleans-Metairie, LA2156814.3$2.5M−3.4%#353 of 387
8Alexandria, LA218515.1$2.2M−2.5%#356 of 387
9Lake Charles, LA1916718.1$2M−3.8%#362 of 387
10Shreveport-Bossier City, LA1422914.6$2.3M−2.3%#375 of 387

Other business types in the New Orleans-Metairie 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 568 fast food and sandwich shops in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area. 429 of them (76%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 916 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 4.2% 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 230 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $1.4B a year, or $3,552 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 568 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.5M 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 398,564 households in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The New Orleans-Metairie metro area has 14.3 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.5M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the New Orleans-Metairie metro area would have about 464, against 568 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 435 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the New Orleans-Metairie metro area at 970,849 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 398,564 households. Median household income in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area is $62,655, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 New Orleans-Metairie metro area scores 21 for fast food and sandwich shops (low), #353 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 New Orleans-Metairie 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 New Orleans-Metairie metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the New Orleans-Metairie 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 New Orleans-Metairie 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.