Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · South Dakota

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Pierre, SD area

The fast food and sandwich shops in the Pierre, SD area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 75 out of 100: High

Ranked #54 of 537 scored small-town markets
#1 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota

Listings
10
8 chain locations (80%)
Official establishments
12
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$33.9M
On food away from home · $3,962 a household
Spending per listing
$3.4M
11% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.7
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,588
−0.5% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Pierre 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 Pierre area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 the Pierre area. Chain locations make up 80% of them, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.7, 12% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Household spending on food away from home in the Pierre area comes to about $33.9M a year: $3,962 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 10 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $3.4M per shop, 11% 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 Pierre area was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 712 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 Pierre area declined 0.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Pierre area is 75 (high), #54 of 537 scored small-town markets and #1 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Pierre area 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 Pierre, SD area compared with South Dakota and the U.S.
MeasurePierre areaSouth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.713.513.3
Spending per listing$3.4M$2.9M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)712587478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.5%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,962$3,849$4,070
Median household income$81,645$75,081$80,734
Groundwork market score7559

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
276
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.3M
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
11The 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 Pierre 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 Pierre area

Population, 2025 estimate
20,588−0.5% since 2020
Households
8,543
Median age
41.5
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,186 sq. mi.
People per square mile
9
Median household income
$81,645+24.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$98,676
Median home value
$237,100
Jobs located here
12,082
Daytime population
22,272Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Pierre 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 Pierre area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Fast food and sandwich shops across South Dakota

Every South Dakota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with the Pierre area marked.

Top small-town markets in South Dakota

Small-town markets in South Dakota ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Pierre, SD751011.7$3.4M−0.5%#54 of 537
2Huron, SD691013.3$2.7M+2.4%#93 of 537
3Brookings, SD641813.0$2.9M+9.6%#145 of 537
4Spearfish, SD631814.9$2.5M+14.0%#154 of 537
5Watertown, SD611814.4$2.5M+4.3%#170 of 537
6Aberdeen, SD592312.8$2.9M−1.5%#189 of 537
7Mitchell, SD411917.3$2.1M+0.6%#363 of 537
8Yankton, SD402121.7$1.7M+1.5%#371 of 537
9Vermillion, SD381221.6$1.6M+0.2%#387 of 537

Other business types in the Pierre 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 Pierre, SD area?

There are 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Pierre area 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 12 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 Pierre, SD area spend on food away from home?

About $33.9M a year, or $3,962 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.4M 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 8,543 households in the Pierre area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Pierre area has 11.7 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.4M, 11% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Pierre area would have about 11, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 712 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is the Pierre, SD area growing?

Population estimates put the Pierre area at 20,588 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,543 households. The median household income in the Pierre area is $81,645 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.3% 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. 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 Pierre area scores 75 for fast food and sandwich shops (high), #54 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 Pierre 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 Pierre area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pierre 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 Pierre 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.