Food and drink · Metro area · Texas
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area
How the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 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 84 out of 100: High
Ranked #13 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas
- Listings
- 1,202
- 1,032 chain locations (86%)
- Official establishments
- 1,894
- All limited-service restaurants · +15.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $4.5B
- On food away from home · $4,549 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 23% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.1
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,620,945
- +14.0% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area. 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
The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area is 84 (high), #13 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for fast food and sandwich shops.
At $4,549 per household (12% above the U.S. average), households in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area spend about $4.5B a year on food away from home. That is about $3.7M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 23% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area has 1,202 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 86% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 12.1 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
Official counts show 1,894 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area in 2023, up 15.1% from 2019. That is one for every 522 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. Since fiscal 2022, 74 SBA-backed loans worth $46.3M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +14.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area compares
The same measures for Texas 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 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.1 | 15.7 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $2.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 522 | 451 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +15.1% | +9.0% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +14.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,549 | $3,970 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $100,431 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 84 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,894All limited-service restaurants · +15.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 44,562
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 418All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,2021,032 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,475The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 74
- Amount
- $46.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,620,945+14.0% since 2020
- Households
- 989,434
- Median age
- 37.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 58%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 4,220 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 575
- Median household income
- $100,431+30.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $137,444
- Median home value
- $465,000
- Jobs located here
- 1,303,265
- Daytime population
- 2,543,902Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area. 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 Texas
Every Texas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Texas for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 84 | 1,202 | 12.1 | $3.7M | +14.0% | #13 of 387 |
| 2Midland, TX | 59 | 109 | 15.7 | $2.8M | +9.8% | #142 of 387 |
| 3Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 57 | 4,003 | 15.0 | $2.7M | +10.3% | #159 of 387 |
| 4Sherman-Denison, TX | 56 | 83 | 15.0 | $2.5M | +12.8% | #162 of 387 |
| 5Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 53 | 4,609 | 15.9 | $2.7M | +10.6% | #180 of 387 |
| 6San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 51 | 1,444 | 14.9 | $2.6M | +9.5% | #191 of 387 |
| 7Odessa, TX | 44 | 89 | 13.8 | $2.7M | +5.0% | #233 of 387 |
| 8Killeen-Temple, TX | 39 | 284 | 16.0 | $2.2M | +7.2% | #268 of 387 |
| 9McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 32 | 509 | 18.8 | $1.7M | +5.6% | #306 of 387 |
| 10Amarillo, TX | 30 | 161 | 15.6 | $2.3M | +2.7% | #311 of 387 |
Other business types in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes66
- Sit-down restaurants65
- Fast food and sandwich shops84
- Pizza85
- Coffee shops and cafes61
- Bakeries and dessert shops65
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 the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,202 fast food and sandwich shops in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area. 1,032 of them (86%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 1,894 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 15.1% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 418 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area spend on food away from home?
About $4.5B a year, or $4,549 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,202 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 989,434 households in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area has 12.1 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.7M, 23% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area would have about 1,475, against 1,202 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 522 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area at 2,620,945 people in 2025, up 14.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 989,434 households. Median household income in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area is $100,431, 24% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.7%, 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area scores 84 for fast food and sandwich shops (high), #13 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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.