Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Maine

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area

How the Augusta-Waterville, ME 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 78 out of 100: High

Ranked #37 of 537 scored small-town markets
The only scored small-town market based in Maine

Listings
50
40 chain locations (80%)
Official establishments
90
All limited-service restaurants · −2.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$196M
On food away from home · $3,609 a household
Spending per listing
$3.9M
28% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.2
31% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
129,067
+3.5% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville 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 Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Augusta-Waterville area is 78 (high), #37 of 537 scored small-town markets and the only scored small-town market based in Maine. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for fast food and sandwich shops.

As of September 2026, map listings count 50 fast food and sandwich shops in the Augusta-Waterville area. Chain locations make up 80% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That is 9.2 per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Households in the Augusta-Waterville area spend about $196M a year on food away from home, or $3,609 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 50 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $3.9M per shop, 28% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 90 businesses with payroll in the Augusta-Waterville area classed as limited-service restaurants, down 2.2% from 2019. That is one for every 603 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, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $3.6M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville area. Population estimates show the Augusta-Waterville area grew 3.5% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Augusta-Waterville area compares

The same measures for Maine 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 Augusta-Waterville, ME area compared with Maine and the U.S.
MeasureAugusta-Waterville areaMaineU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.210.013.3
Spending per listing$3.9M$3.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)603588478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.2%+1.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.5%+3.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,609$3,835$4,070
Median household income$69,077$74,733$80,734
Groundwork market score7872

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
90All limited-service restaurants · −2.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,419
Annual payroll, 2023
$34.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
17All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5040 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
64The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$3.6M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
129,067+3.5% since 2020
Households
54,312
Median age
43.8
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
868 sq. mi.
People per square mile
146
Median household income
$69,077+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,742
Median home value
$238,200
Jobs located here
65,677
Daytime population
134,017Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Other business types in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville, ME area?

The Augusta-Waterville area has 50 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 40 of them (80%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 90 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, down 2.2% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 17 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area spend on food away from home?

About $196M a year, or $3,609 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.9M 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 54,312 households in the Augusta-Waterville area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Augusta-Waterville, ME area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Augusta-Waterville area has 9.2 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.9M, 28% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Augusta-Waterville area would have about 64, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 603 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Augusta-Waterville, ME area growing?

Population estimates put the Augusta-Waterville area at 129,067 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 54,312 households. The median household income in the Augusta-Waterville area is $69,077 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.8% 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 Augusta-Waterville area scores 78 for fast food and sandwich shops (high), #37 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 Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Augusta-Waterville area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.