Food and drink · County · South Carolina
Fast food and sandwich shops in Aiken County, SC
How Aiken County, SC 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 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #1,083 of 2,222 scored counties
#16 of 43 scored counties in South Carolina
- Listings
- 102
- 95 chain locations (93%)
- Official establishments
- 138
- All limited-service restaurants · +5.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $256.1M
- On food away from home · $3,663 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.5M
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.6
- 10% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 181,515
- +7.3% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Aiken 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 Aiken County. 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
Household spending on food away from home in Aiken County comes to about $256.1M a year: $3,663 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. Spread across 102 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.5M per shop, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Aiken County has 102 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 95 are chain locations, or 93%, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 14.6, 10% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 138 businesses with payroll in Aiken County classed as limited-service restaurants, up 5.3% from 2019. That is one for every 507 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 17 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.2M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Aiken County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Aiken County grew 7.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in Aiken County is 52 (upper middle), #1,083 of 2,222 scored counties and #16 of 43 scored counties in South Carolina.
How Aiken County compares
The same measures for South Carolina 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 | Aiken County | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.6 | 14.8 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.5M | $2.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 507 | 501 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.3% | +10.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.3% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,663 | $3,660 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $70,609 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 52 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 131 → 138All limited-service restaurants · +5.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,953
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $49.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 17All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10295 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 84The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $1.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Aiken 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 Aiken County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 181,515+7.3% since 2020
- Households
- 69,916
- Median age
- 42.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,071 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 163
- Median household income
- $70,609+37.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,371
- Median home value
- $218,000
- Jobs located here
- 65,453
- Daytime population
- 171,299Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Aiken 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 Aiken County. 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in South Carolina for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with Aiken County marked.
Top counties in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Edgefield County, SC | 89 | 6 | 6.1 | $5.8M | +16.1% | #20 of 2,222 |
| 2Oconee County, SC | 77 | 29 | 8.4 | $4.2M | +6.3% | #191 of 2,222 |
| 3Lancaster County, SC | 76 | 43 | 10.7 | $3.7M | +18.3% | #213 of 2,222 |
| 4Beaufort County, SC | 75 | 99 | 12.0 | $3.5M | +8.9% | #233 of 2,222 |
| 5Saluda County, SC | 74 | 5 | 6.5 | $4.9M | +4.1% | #241 of 2,222 |
| 6Dorchester County, SC | 74 | 67 | 10.6 | $3.7M | +10.1% | #257 of 2,222 |
| 7Berkeley County, SC | 74 | 121 | 12.9 | $3M | +18.7% | #266 of 2,222 |
| 8Abbeville County, SC | 72 | 6 | 6.1 | $5.4M | +2.3% | #295 of 2,222 |
| 9York County, SC | 72 | 142 | 12.5 | $3.4M | +8.1% | #315 of 2,222 |
| 10Kershaw County, SC | 66 | 34 | 12.6 | $2.8M | +11.6% | #535 of 2,222 |
| 16Aiken County, SC | 52 | 102 | 14.6 | $2.5M | +7.3% | #1,083 of 2,222 |
Other business types in Aiken County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes66
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops52
- Pizza66
- Coffee shops and cafes85
- Bakeries and dessert shops81
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 Aiken County, SC?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 102 fast food and sandwich shops in Aiken County. 95 of them (93%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 138 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 5.3% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 17 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Aiken County, SC spend on food away from home?
About $256.1M a year, or $3,663 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 102 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.5M 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 69,916 households in Aiken County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Aiken County, SC compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
Aiken County has 14.6 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.5M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Aiken County would have about 84, against 102 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 507 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is Aiken County, SC growing?
Population estimates put Aiken County at 181,515 people in 2025, up 7.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,916 households. Median household income in Aiken County is $70,609, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 37.4%, 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. Aiken County scores 52 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #1,083 of 2,222 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Aiken 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 Aiken County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Aiken 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 Aiken County. 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.