Groundwork

Food and drink · County · South Carolina

Fast food and sandwich shops in Fairfield County, SC

How Fairfield 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 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,304 of 2,222 scored counties
#18 of 43 scored counties in South Carolina

Listings
10
10 chain locations (100%)
Official establishments
9
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$27.9M
On food away from home · $3,122 a household
Spending per listing
$2.8M
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.2
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,340
−2.6% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 fast food and sandwich shops in Fairfield County. All of them are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 11.2 for every 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Households in Fairfield County spend about $27.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,122 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.8M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 9% below 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in Fairfield County classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 992 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.

Population estimates put the population change in Fairfield County from 2020 to 2025 at −2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Fairfield County scores 46 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #1,304 of 2,222 scored counties and #18 of 43 scored counties in South Carolina.

How Fairfield 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Fairfield County, SC compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureFairfield CountySouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.214.813.3
Spending per listing$2.8M$2.5M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)992501478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,122$3,660$4,070
Median household income$47,885$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score4639

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 9All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
125
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1010 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The 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 Fairfield 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 Fairfield County

Population, 2025 estimate
20,340−2.6% since 2020
Households
8,930
Median age
47.5
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
686 sq. mi.
People per square mile
30
Median household income
$47,885+25.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$72,061
Median home value
$151,200
Jobs located here
6,065
Daytime population
16,748Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Fairfield 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 Fairfield County. 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 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 Fairfield County marked.

Top counties in South Carolina

Counties in South Carolina ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Edgefield County, SC8966.1$5.8M+16.1%#20 of 2,222
2Oconee County, SC77298.4$4.2M+6.3%#191 of 2,222
3Lancaster County, SC764310.7$3.7M+18.3%#213 of 2,222
4Beaufort County, SC759912.0$3.5M+8.9%#233 of 2,222
5Saluda County, SC7456.5$4.9M+4.1%#241 of 2,222
6Dorchester County, SC746710.6$3.7M+10.1%#257 of 2,222
7Berkeley County, SC7412112.9$3M+18.7%#266 of 2,222
8Abbeville County, SC7266.1$5.4M+2.3%#295 of 2,222
9York County, SC7214212.5$3.4M+8.1%#315 of 2,222
10Kershaw County, SC663412.6$2.8M+11.6%#535 of 2,222
18Fairfield County, SC461011.2$2.8M−2.6%#1,304 of 2,222

Other business types in Fairfield 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 Fairfield County, SC?

There are 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in Fairfield County as of September 2026. 10 of them (100%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 9 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 Fairfield County, SC spend on food away from home?

About $27.9M a year, or $3,122 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 8,930 households in Fairfield County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Fairfield County 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 $2.8M, 9% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Fairfield County would have about 9, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 992 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Fairfield County, SC growing?

Population estimates put Fairfield County at 20,340 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,930 households. The median household income in Fairfield County is $47,885 a year, 41% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.3% 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. 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. Fairfield County scores 46 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #1,304 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Fairfield 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 Fairfield County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Fairfield County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.