Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Ohio

Fast food and sandwich shops in Defiance County, OH

How Defiance County, OH compares with other counties and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,373 of 2,222 scored counties
#49 of 84 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
21
20 chain locations (95%)
Official establishments
30
All limited-service restaurants · −6.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$56M
On food away from home · $3,656 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.7
3% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
38,292
+0.1% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Defiance County

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 Defiance County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $3,656 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in Defiance County spend about $56M a year on food away from home. That works out to $2.7M per shop, 13% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

Defiance County has 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 95% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That is 13.7 per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Defiance County was 30 in 2023, down 6.2% from 2019. That is one for every 511 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 list 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $35K have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Defiance County.

Population estimates show Defiance County grew 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Defiance County scores 44 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #1,373 of 2,222 scored counties and #49 of 84 scored counties in Ohio.

How Defiance County 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 Defiance County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureDefiance CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.713.613.3
Spending per listing$2.7M$2.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)511467478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−6.2%+7.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,656$3,829$4,070
Median household income$73,064$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score4431

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
32 → 30All limited-service restaurants · −6.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
800
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
6All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2120 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
18The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$35K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Defiance County, 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 Defiance County

Population, 2025 estimate
38,292+0.1% since 2020
Households
15,327
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
411 sq. mi.
People per square mile
93
Median household income
$73,064+21.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,073
Median home value
$163,200
Jobs located here
14,922
Daytime population
36,059Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Defiance County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Defiance County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Fast food and sandwich shops across Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Ohio for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Ohio, with Defiance County marked.

Top counties in Ohio

Counties in Ohio ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Union County, OH863012.4$3.9M+16.5%#47 of 2,222
2Holmes County, OH81107.5$5.4M+1.7%#106 of 2,222
3Morrow County, OH781410.4$3.7M+3.7%#172 of 2,222
4Warren County, OH7510010.9$4.5M+5.7%#222 of 2,222
5Geauga County, OH743710.3$4.7M+0.3%#244 of 2,222
6Perry County, OH70107.4$4.9M+1.3%#349 of 2,222
7Fairfield County, OH707612.6$3.4M+6.5%#369 of 2,222
8Medina County, OH698311.4$3.9M+1.3%#397 of 2,222
9Champaign County, OH69159.6$3.9M+0.2%#398 of 2,222
10Putnam County, OH67129.1$4.4M0.0%#458 of 2,222
49Defiance County, OH442113.7$2.7M+0.1%#1,373 of 2,222

Other business types in Defiance County

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 Defiance County, OH?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 fast food and sandwich shops in Defiance County. 20 of them (95%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 30 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, down 6.2% 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 6 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Defiance County, OH spend on food away from home?

About $56M a year, or $3,656 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 15,327 households in Defiance County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Defiance County has 13.7 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.7M, 13% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Defiance County would have about 18, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 511 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count fell 6.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Defiance County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Defiance County at 38,292 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,327 households. Median household income in Defiance County is $73,064, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.9%, 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. Defiance County scores 44 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #1,373 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Defiance County. 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 Defiance County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Defiance County?

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 Defiance County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Run a site report See plans
Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Screening many markets at once? Talk to us

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.