Food and drink · Small-town market · Oregon
Fast food and sandwich shops in The Dalles, OR area
How The Dalles, OR 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 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #271 of 537 scored small-town markets
#8 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Oregon
- Listings
- 10
- 9 chain locations (90%)
- Official establishments
- 23
- All limited-service restaurants
- Household spending a year
- $36.6M
- On food away from home · $3,464 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 20% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.5
- 29% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 26,310
- −1.1% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in The Dalles 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 Dalles area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 10 fast food and sandwich shops in The Dalles area. Chain locations make up 90% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That is 9.5 per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
At $3,464 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in The Dalles area spend about $36.6M a year on food away from home. That is about $3.7M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 20% above 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 Dalles area was 23 in 2023. That is one for every 459 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.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of The Dalles area declined 1.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in The Dalles area is 51 (upper middle), #271 of 537 scored small-town markets and #8 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Oregon.
How The Dalles area compares
The same measures for Oregon 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.
| Measure | The Dalles area | Oregon | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.5 | 11.7 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $3.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 459 | 506 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.0% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.1% | +0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,464 | $4,070 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $64,175 | $83,011 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 57 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 23All limited-service restaurants
- Employees, 2023
- 463
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $11M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 109 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The 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 Dalles 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 Dalles area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 26,310−1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 10,563
- Median age
- 42.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 2,381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 11
- Median household income
- $64,175+20.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,059
- Median home value
- $367,400
- Jobs located here
- 10,091
- Daytime population
- 24,380Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in The Dalles 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 Dalles area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Oregon
Every Oregon market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Oregon for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Oregon, with The Dalles area marked.
Top small-town markets in Oregon
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brookings, OR | 66 | 7 | 6.3 | $5.6M | −3.8% | #117 of 537 |
| 2Newport, OR | 65 | 18 | 7.8 | $4.4M | +0.3% | #128 of 537 |
| 3Hermiston-Pendleton, OR | 65 | 43 | 13.0 | $2.7M | +1.8% | #135 of 537 |
| 4Coos Bay-North Bend, OR | 61 | 31 | 10.8 | $3.2M | −1.5% | #166 of 537 |
| 5Ontario, OR-ID | 60 | 25 | 12.5 | $2.7M | +5.0% | #179 of 537 |
| 6Hood River, OR | 58 | 10 | 11.2 | $3.9M | −0.7% | #198 of 537 |
| 7Roseburg, OR | 53 | 61 | 12.8 | $2.6M | +0.6% | #249 of 537 |
| 8The Dalles, OR | 51 | 10 | 9.5 | $3.7M | −1.1% | #271 of 537 |
| 9Klamath Falls, OR | 49 | 40 | 13.8 | $2.4M | +0.9% | #285 of 537 |
| 10Astoria, OR | 42 | 26 | 14.5 | $2.6M | −0.6% | #348 of 537 |
Other business types in The Dalles area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes20
- Sit-down restaurants24
- Fast food and sandwich shops51
- Pizza51
- Coffee shops and cafes23
- Bakeries and dessert shops25
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in The Dalles, OR area?
The Dalles area has 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (90%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops.
How much do households in The Dalles, OR area spend on food away from home?
About $36.6M a year, or $3,464 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 10,563 households in The Dalles area and national spending patterns by income.
How does The Dalles, OR area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Dalles area has 9.5 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.7M, 20% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, The Dalles area would have about 12, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 459 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.
How fast is The Dalles, OR area growing?
Population estimates put The Dalles area at 26,310 people in 2025, down 1.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,563 households. The median household income in The Dalles area is $64,175 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.9% 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. 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 Dalles area scores 51 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #271 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 Dalles 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 Dalles area
Screening a site or an acquisition in The Dalles 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 Dalles 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.