Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Tennessee

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Jackson, TN metro area

How the Jackson, TN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 21 out of 100: Low

Ranked #358 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee

Listings
133
123 chain locations (92%)
Official establishments
151
All limited-service restaurants · +11.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$240.4M
On food away from home · $3,317 a household
Spending per listing
$1.8M
41% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
18.4
38% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
184,569
+2.2% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Jackson metro 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 Jackson metro area. 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

The Jackson metro area scores 21 (low) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #358 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 133 fast food and sandwich shops in the Jackson metro area. 123 of them (92%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 18.4, 38% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

At $3,317 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Jackson metro area spend about $240.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $1.8M per shop, 41% 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 151 businesses with payroll in the Jackson metro area classed as limited-service restaurants, up 11.9% from 2019. That is one for every 480 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 Jackson metro area grew 2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Jackson metro area compares

The same measures for Tennessee 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 Jackson, TN metro area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureJackson metro areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households18.415.113.3
Spending per listing$1.8M$2.4M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)480492478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+11.9%+6.2%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.2%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,317$3,670$4,070
Median household income$61,177$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score2134

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
151All limited-service restaurants · +11.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,612
Annual payroll, 2023
$62.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
29All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
133123 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
79The 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 Jackson metro 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 Jackson metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
184,569+2.2% since 2020
Households
72,451
Median age
39.4
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,711 sq. mi.
People per square mile
106
Median household income
$61,177+30.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,447
Median home value
$185,300
Jobs located here
84,298
Daytime population
188,381Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Jackson metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Jackson metro area. 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 Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Tennessee for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Jackson metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN581,18414.3$2.9M+8.7%#151 of 387
2Knoxville, TN5058815.5$2.4M+6.9%#197 of 387
3Clarksville, TN-KY4318715.0$2.4M+8.5%#243 of 387
4Chattanooga, TN-GA4039417.0$2.2M+5.3%#261 of 387
5Johnson City, TN3513014.6$2.3M+4.3%#287 of 387
6Cleveland, TN358316.6$2.1M+6.1%#289 of 387
7Morristown, TN3310221.3$1.6M+7.9%#298 of 387
8Memphis, TN-MS-AR2880815.5$2.3M−0.3%#324 of 387
9Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA2621216.2$2M+2.3%#337 of 387
10Jackson, TN2113318.4$1.8M+2.2%#358 of 387

Other business types in the Jackson metro 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 Jackson, TN metro area?

There are 133 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Jackson metro area as of September 2026. 123 of them (92%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 151 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 11.9% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts list 29 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Jackson, TN metro area spend on food away from home?

About $240.4M a year, or $3,317 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 133 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $1.8M 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 72,451 households in the Jackson metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Jackson, TN metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

The Jackson metro area has 18.4 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $1.8M, 41% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Jackson metro area would have about 79, against 133 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 480 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Jackson, TN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Jackson metro area at 184,569 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,451 households. The median household income in the Jackson metro area is $61,177 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 30.5% 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. The Jackson metro area scores 21 for fast food and sandwich shops (low), #358 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Jackson metro 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 Jackson metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Jackson metro 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 Jackson metro 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.