Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Bellefontaine, OH area

The fast food and sandwich shops in the Bellefontaine, OH area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #130 of 537 scored small-town markets
#5 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
22
20 chain locations (91%)
Official establishments
36
All limited-service restaurants · +9.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$72.5M
On food away from home · $3,705 a household
Spending per listing
$3.3M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.2
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
46,302
+0.4% since 2020

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

Household spending on food away from home in the Bellefontaine area comes to about $72.5M a year: $3,705 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.3M per shop, 8% above 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 22 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Bellefontaine area as of September 2026. 20 of them (91%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 11.2 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Bellefontaine area in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019. That is one for every 543 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 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in the Bellefontaine area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Bellefontaine area is 65 (upper middle), #130 of 537 scored small-town markets and #5 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Bellefontaine area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Bellefontaine, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureBellefontaine areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.213.613.3
Spending per listing$3.3M$2.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)543467478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.1%+7.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,705$3,829$4,070
Median household income$71,551$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6531

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
36All limited-service restaurants · +9.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
835
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
4All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2220 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
46,302+0.4% since 2020
Households
19,560
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
459 sq. mi.
People per square mile
101
Median household income
$71,551+26.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,928
Median home value
$203,200
Jobs located here
19,360
Daytime population
44,374Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine 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 Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Ohio for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Ohio, with the Bellefontaine area marked.

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Urbana, OH79159.6$3.9M+0.2%#31 of 537
2Greenville, OH70219.9$3.6M−0.7%#86 of 537
3Sidney, OH672513.2$2.9M−0.2%#114 of 537
4Mount Vernon, OH662410.2$3.7M+1.9%#121 of 537
5Bellefontaine, OH652211.2$3.3M+0.4%#130 of 537
6Wilmington, OH652213.1$2.8M+0.6%#134 of 537
7Wooster, OH615712.8$2.9M−0.1%#167 of 537
8Tiffin, OH592812.6$2.8M−1.0%#190 of 537
9Celina, OH572012.2$3.1M+0.5%#211 of 537
10Wapakoneta, OH572412.7$3.1M−1.2%#212 of 537

Other business types in the Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine, OH area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 22 fast food and sandwich shops in the Bellefontaine area. 20 of them (91%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Bellefontaine, OH area spend on food away from home?

About $72.5M a year, or $3,705 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.3M 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 19,560 households in the Bellefontaine area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Bellefontaine, OH area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Bellefontaine area has 11.2 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.3M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Bellefontaine area would have about 24, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 543 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Bellefontaine, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Bellefontaine area at 46,302 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,560 households. Median household income in the Bellefontaine area is $71,551, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.1%, 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. 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 Bellefontaine area scores 65 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #130 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 Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bellefontaine 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 Bellefontaine 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.