Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Wilmington, OH area

How the Wilmington, OH 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #134 of 537 scored small-town markets
#6 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
22
22 chain locations (100%)
Official establishments
27
All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$61.8M
On food away from home · $3,687 a household
Spending per listing
$2.8M
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.1
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
42,301
+0.6% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington area comes to about $61.8M a year: $3,687 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.8M per shop, 8% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

The Wilmington area has 22 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. All of them are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 13.1 for every 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Wilmington area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 621 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. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show the Wilmington area grew 0.6% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Wilmington area scores 65 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #134 of 537 scored small-town markets and #6 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Wilmington 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 Wilmington, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureWilmington areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.113.613.3
Spending per listing$2.8M$2.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)621467478
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+7.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.6%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,687$3,829$4,070
Median household income$70,407$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6531

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
27All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
731
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
4All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2222 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
20The 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington area

Population, 2025 estimate
42,301+0.6% since 2020
Households
16,761
Median age
40.3
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
409 sq. mi.
People per square mile
103
Median household income
$70,407+33.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,775
Median home value
$211,900
Jobs located here
19,070
Daytime population
42,081Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington, OH area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 22 fast food and sandwich shops in the Wilmington area. 22 of them (100%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged 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 list 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $61.8M a year, or $3,687 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 $2.8M 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 16,761 households in the Wilmington area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Wilmington area has 13.1 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.8M, 8% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Wilmington area would have about 20, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 621 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Wilmington, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Wilmington area at 42,301 people in 2025, up 0.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,761 households. Median household income in the Wilmington area is $70,407, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 33.3%, 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 Wilmington area scores 65 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #134 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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.