Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Texas

Fast food and sandwich shops in the Zapata, TX area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for fast food and sandwich shops in the Zapata, TX area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #469 of 537 scored small-town markets
#30 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas

Listings
9
6 chain locations (67%)
Official establishments
7
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$12.8M
On food away from home · $2,803 a household
Spending per listing
$1.4M
53% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
19.7
48% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
13,753
−0.9% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Zapata 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 Zapata 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 Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Zapata area is 27 (lower middle), #469 of 537 scored small-town markets and #30 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

At $2,803 per household (31% below the U.S. average), households in the Zapata area spend about $12.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $1.4M per shop, 53% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

The Zapata area has 9 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (67%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 19.7 for every 10,000 households, 48% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in the Zapata area classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 652 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. Population estimates show the Zapata area declined 0.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Zapata 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Zapata, TX area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureZapata areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households19.715.713.3
Spending per listing$1.4M$2.5M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)652451478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.9%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,803$3,970$4,070
Median household income$39,239$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score2743

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
109
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
5All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
96 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4The 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 Zapata 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 Zapata area

Population, 2025 estimate
13,753−0.9% since 2020
Households
4,565
Median age
33.1
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
998 sq. mi.
People per square mile
14
Median household income
$39,239+15.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$55,044
Median home value
$97,100
Jobs located here
2,023
Daytime population
10,968Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Zapata 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 Zapata 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 Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Texas

Small-town markets in Texas ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fredericksburg, TX801412.2$3.3M+6.6%#26 of 537
2Bonham, TX791814.1$2.6M+9.2%#36 of 537
3Andrews, TX68811.7$3.3M+1.6%#105 of 537
4Granbury, TX673714.5$2.8M+13.6%#115 of 537
5Palestine, TX631910.8$3M+3.2%#149 of 537
6Brenham, TX632415.5$2.4M+7.0%#156 of 537
7Port Lavaca, TX601213.8$2.8M−2.3%#178 of 537
8Jacksonville, TX592714.8$2.3M+5.4%#194 of 537
9Bay City, TX582113.6$2.5M+0.5%#207 of 537
10Kerrville, TX573214.1$2.6M+2.5%#216 of 537
30Zapata, TX27919.7$1.4M−0.9%#469 of 537

Other business types in the Zapata 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 Zapata, TX area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 9 fast food and sandwich shops in the Zapata area. 6 of them (67%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Zapata, TX area spend on food away from home?

About $12.8M a year, or $2,803 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $1.4M 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 4,565 households in the Zapata area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Zapata area has 19.7 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 48% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $1.4M, 53% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Zapata area would have about 4, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 652 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is the Zapata, TX area growing?

Population estimates put the Zapata area at 13,753 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,565 households. Median household income in the Zapata area is $39,239, 51% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.6%, 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 Zapata area scores 27 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #469 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 Zapata 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 Zapata area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Zapata 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 Zapata 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.