Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Michigan

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area

How the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #215 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan

Listings
82
71 chain locations (87%)
Official establishments
129
All limited-service restaurants · +5.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$236.1M
On food away from home · $3,486 a household
Spending per listing
$2.9M
6% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.1
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
177,901
+1.8% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 82 fast food and sandwich shops in the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area. 71 of them (87%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.1, 9% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

At $3,486 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area spend about $236.1M a year on food away from home. Spread across 82 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.9M per shop, 6% 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area was 129 in 2023, up 5.7% from 2019. That is one for every 525 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. Official counts list 12 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $730K have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area.

Population estimates show the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area grew 1.8% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area is 47 (lower middle), #215 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.

How the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area compares

The same measures for Michigan 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureMuskegon-Norton Shores metro areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.112.813.3
Spending per listing$2.9M$3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)525514478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.7%+7.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,486$3,875$4,070
Median household income$65,024$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4744

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
129All limited-service restaurants · +5.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,333
Annual payroll, 2023
$49.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
12All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8271 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
77The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$730K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
177,901+1.8% since 2020
Households
67,732
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
504 sq. mi.
People per square mile
349
Median household income
$65,024+27.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,950
Median home value
$198,300
Jobs located here
56,600
Daytime population
160,507Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Michigan for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Michigan

Metro areas in Michigan ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI6854412.4$3.3M+2.8%#86 of 387
2Midland, MI673810.9$3.7M+0.3%#91 of 387
3Ann Arbor, MI6616310.8$4.1M−0.4%#97 of 387
4Traverse City, MI648513.0$3.1M+2.2%#108 of 387
5Monroe, MI618513.5$2.9M+0.7%#130 of 387
6Jackson, MI557912.6$2.9M−0.4%#167 of 387
7Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI492,34913.3$3M+0.1%#200 of 387
8Lansing-East Lansing, MI4925012.9$3M+1.4%#202 of 387
9Kalamazoo-Portage, MI4815514.5$2.7M+0.8%#211 of 387
10Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI478212.1$2.9M+1.8%#215 of 387

Other business types in the Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area?

The Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area has 82 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 71 of them (87%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 129 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 5.7% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area spend on food away from home?

About $236.1M a year, or $3,486 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 82 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.9M 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 67,732 households in the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area has 12.1 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.9M, 6% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area would have about 77, against 82 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 525 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area at 177,901 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 67,732 households. The median household income in the Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area is $65,024 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.9% 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area scores 47 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #215 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Muskegon-Norton Shores 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 Muskegon-Norton Shores 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.