Groundwork

Food and drink · County · South Dakota

Fast food and sandwich shops in Hughes County, SD

How Hughes County, SD 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #865 of 2,222 scored counties
#6 of 16 scored counties in South Dakota

Listings
10
8 chain locations (80%)
Official establishments
11
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$28.8M
On food away from home · $3,973 a household
Spending per listing
$2.9M
6% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.8
4% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
17,570
−0.9% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Hughes 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 Hughes 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 10 fast food and sandwich shops in Hughes County. Chain locations make up 80% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 13.8 for every 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Hughes County comes to about $28.8M a year: $3,973 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. Spread across 10 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.9M per shop, 6% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Hughes County was 11 in 2023. That is one for every 659 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 Hughes County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Hughes County scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #865 of 2,222 scored counties and #6 of 16 scored counties in South Dakota.

How Hughes County compares

The same measures for South Dakota 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 Hughes County, SD compared with South Dakota and the U.S.
MeasureHughes CountySouth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.813.513.3
Spending per listing$2.9M$2.9M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)659587478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.9%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,973$3,849$4,070
Median household income$81,395$75,081$80,734
Groundwork market score5759

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12 → 11All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
232
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
108 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 Hughes 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 Hughes County

Population, 2025 estimate
17,570−0.9% since 2020
Households
7,253
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
742 sq. mi.
People per square mile
24
Median household income
$81,395+25.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$99,105
Median home value
$242,000
Jobs located here
10,890
Daytime population
19,525Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hughes 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 Hughes 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 Dakota

Every South Dakota market ranked →

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

Top counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lincoln County, SD922910.4$4.4M+17.5%#10 of 2,222
2Union County, SD9068.2$5.3M+3.3%#15 of 2,222
3Meade County, SD8397.5$5.2M+2.7%#86 of 2,222
4Lake County, SD66612.7$3.1M−0.2%#530 of 2,222
5Butte County, SD61716.3$2.4M+5.5%#726 of 2,222
6Hughes County, SD571013.8$2.9M−0.9%#865 of 2,222
7Beadle County, SD571013.3$2.7M+2.4%#871 of 2,222
8Brookings County, SD561813.0$2.9M+9.6%#915 of 2,222
9Lawrence County, SD551814.9$2.5M+14.0%#963 of 2,222
10Minnehaha County, SD5213015.3$2.6M+7.6%#1,076 of 2,222

Other business types in Hughes 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 Hughes County, SD?

Hughes County has 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (80%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 11 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 Hughes County, SD spend on food away from home?

About $28.8M a year, or $3,973 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.9M 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 7,253 households in Hughes County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Hughes County has 13.8 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.9M, 6% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Hughes County would have about 9, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 659 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Hughes County, SD growing?

Population estimates put Hughes County at 17,570 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,253 households. The median household income in Hughes County is $81,395 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.6% 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. Hughes County scores 57 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #865 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hughes 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.