Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · New York

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Syracuse, NY metro area

The fast food and sandwich shops in the Syracuse, NY metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #147 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
326
238 chain locations (73%)
Official establishments
480
All limited-service restaurants · −9.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1B
On food away from home · $3,854 a household
Spending per listing
$3.2M
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.0
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
652,273
−1.3% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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

Households in the Syracuse metro area spend about $1B a year on food away from home, or $3,854 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.2M per shop, 5% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

The Syracuse metro area has 326 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 238 of them (73%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 12.0 per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Syracuse metro area was 480 in 2023, down 9.4% from 2019. That is one for every 565 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 also show 70 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 15 SBA-backed loans worth $5.5M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Syracuse metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Syracuse metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For fast food and sandwich shops, the Syracuse metro area has a Groundwork market score of 58 (upper middle): #147 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.

How the Syracuse metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Syracuse, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureSyracuse metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.014.113.3
Spending per listing$3.2M$3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)565433478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−9.4%−0.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,854$4,270$4,070
Median household income$75,492$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score5836

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
480All limited-service restaurants · −9.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
7,965
Annual payroll, 2023
$158.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
70All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
326238 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
343The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
15
Amount
$5.5M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
652,273−1.3% since 2020
Households
271,251
Median age
41.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
2,385 sq. mi.
People per square mile
275
Median household income
$75,492+25.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$99,360
Median home value
$187,700
Jobs located here
309,260
Daytime population
669,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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 New York

Every New York market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ithaca, NY73388.8$4.5M−1.4%#51 of 387
2Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY7042711.1$3.8M+1.9%#67 of 387
3Rochester, NY624389.8$3.9M−0.7%#119 of 387
4Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY614759.5$4M−0.8%#125 of 387
5Kingston, NY618711.7$3.6M+1.1%#126 of 387
6Utica-Rome, NY581189.8$3.7M−2.0%#145 of 387
7Syracuse, NY5832612.0$3.2M−1.3%#147 of 387
8Glens Falls, NY547012.8$3M−1.9%#173 of 387
9Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY5339515.5$2.9M+3.0%#179 of 387
10Binghamton, NY5012512.2$2.9M−1.3%#195 of 387

Other business types in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse, NY metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 326 fast food and sandwich shops in the Syracuse metro area. 238 of them (73%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 480 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, down 9.4% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 70 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $1B a year, or $3,854 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 326 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 271,251 households in the Syracuse metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Syracuse metro area has 12.0 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.2M, 5% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Syracuse metro area would have about 343, against 326 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 565 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count fell 9.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Syracuse, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Syracuse metro area at 652,273 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 271,251 households. Median household income in the Syracuse metro area is $75,492, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.1%, 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. The Syracuse metro area scores 58 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #147 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 Syracuse 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 Syracuse metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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.