Market rankings · Virginia

Fast food and sandwich shops in Virginia

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Virginia, ranked by the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 4,457; 3,721 chain locations (83%)
Official establishments: 7,145; All limited-service restaurants · +3.6% since 2019
Household spending a year: $14.7B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 13.2; In line with the U.S.
Spending per listing: $3.3M; 8% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #23 of 51; Market score 56 · Upper middle

A site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings around any address in Virginia by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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

Virginia has 4,457 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 83% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 13.2 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 13.3.

At $4,372 per household (7% above the U.S. average), households in Virginia spend about $14.7B a year on food away from home. That is about $3.3M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

Official counts show 7,145 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Virginia in 2023, up 3.6% from 2019. That is one for every 471 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.1% over the same years. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Since fiscal 2022, 188 SBA-backed loans worth $104M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Virginia.

Among the 50 states and DC, Virginia ranks #23 for fast food and sandwich shops, with a Groundwork market score of 56 (upper middle). Of the 11 scored metro areas in or partly in Virginia, the Charlottesville metro area scores highest (76). Of the 4 scored small-town markets in or partly in Virginia, the Lake of the Woods area scores highest (79).

Every market in Virginia for fast food and sandwich shops

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Virginia, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Virginia, ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Charlottesville, VA	76	105	11.6	$3.8M	+3.1%	#41 of 387
2Richmond, VA	71	691	13.0	$3.2M	+5.5%	#65 of 387
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	68	2,863	12.1	$4.3M	+3.3%	#82 of 387
3Winchester, VA-WV	63	81	14.6	$2.8M	+6.5%	#118 of 387
4Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA	53	74	14.2	$2.6M	+3.2%	#181 of 387
5Roanoke, VA	45	186	14.1	$2.6M	+0.4%	#229 of 387
6Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	42	1,005	14.2	$2.8M	+0.9%	#244 of 387
7Lynchburg, VA	41	155	15.0	$2.4M	+2.9%	#254 of 387
8Harrisonburg, VA	39	75	15.0	$2.5M	+3.5%	#265 of 387
9Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA	30	108	15.4	$2.3M	−0.1%	#313 of 387
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA	26	212	16.2	$2M	+2.3%	#337 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Virginia, ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Lake of the Woods, VA	79	17	11.4	$3.7M	+10.1%	#32 of 537
2Danville, VA	27	61	13.8	$2.2M	−1.7%	#465 of 537
3Martinsville, VA	26	38	14.2	$2.1M	−1.9%	#470 of 537
Bluefield, WV-VA	22	71	17.5	$1.8M	−3.8%	#489 of 537

Counties

Counties in Virginia, ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Goochland County, VA	98	7	6.8	$7.4M	+17.4%	#1 of 2,222
2New Kent County, VA	95	10	10.8	$4.5M	+21.2%	#4 of 2,222
3Powhatan County, VA	94	8	7.1	$6.6M	+7.0%	#5 of 2,222
4Louisa County, VA	93	11	7.1	$5.8M	+13.6%	#7 of 2,222
5Greene County, VA	88	6	7.5	$5.7M	+6.6%	#27 of 2,222
6Rockingham County, VA	88	24	7.3	$5.3M	+6.6%	#28 of 2,222
7Albemarle County, VA	88	45	9.8	$4.7M	+5.1%	#30 of 2,222
8Caroline County, VA	86	13	10.8	$3.7M	+11.3%	#48 of 2,222
9Isle of Wight County, VA	84	14	8.9	$4.8M	+6.7%	#75 of 2,222
10Bedford County, VA	84	27	8.2	$4.7M	+4.4%	#76 of 2,222
11Frederick County, VA	84	42	11.9	$3.7M	+8.8%	#82 of 2,222
12Dinwiddie County, VA	83	9	8.4	$4.5M	+3.6%	#87 of 2,222
13Madison County, VA	82	5	9.1	$4.4M	+2.7%	#96 of 2,222
14Fauquier County, VA	81	28	10.5	$4.9M	+4.8%	#110 of 2,222
15Botetourt County, VA	81	11	8.3	$4.7M	+1.5%	#112 of 2,222
16James City County, VA	81	39	12.2	$3.8M	+6.2%	#114 of 2,222
17Stafford County, VA	80	61	11.7	$4.6M	+8.3%	#122 of 2,222
18Westmoreland County, VA	80	7	8.6	$4M	+6.5%	#131 of 2,222
19Culpeper County, VA	77	23	12.2	$3.6M	+9.3%	#196 of 2,222
20Alexandria city, VA	75	77	10.1	$4.9M	+1.0%	#219 of 2,222
21Poquoson city, VA	75	5	10.6	$4.6M	+6.6%	#220 of 2,222
22Chesterfield County, VA	75	169	12.1	$3.7M	+8.7%	#229 of 2,222
23Loudoun County, VA	74	174	12.2	$5M	+6.4%	#239 of 2,222
24Orange County, VA	74	17	11.4	$3.7M	+10.1%	#255 of 2,222
25Augusta County, VA	74	32	10.3	$3.7M	+1.8%	#258 of 2,222

Show all 133 counties

Counties in Virginia, ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Arlington County, VA	73	112	10.0	$5.4M	+2.1%	#269 of 2,222
27Franklin County, VA	72	22	9.6	$3.8M	+1.9%	#310 of 2,222
28King William County, VA	72	10	13.6	$2.9M	+9.5%	#320 of 2,222
29Spotsylvania County, VA	71	74	14.1	$3.3M	+10.5%	#337 of 2,222
30Prince William County, VA	69	183	11.7	$4.5M	+4.2%	#387 of 2,222
31King George County, VA	69	15	14.8	$3.2M	+10.5%	#412 of 2,222
32Warren County, VA	67	20	13.0	$3.1M	+4.8%	#486 of 2,222
33Pittsylvania County, VA	66	13	5.2	$6M	−1.5%	#496 of 2,222
34Roanoke County, VA	66	48	12.1	$3.3M	+0.2%	#520 of 2,222
35Fairfax County, VA	65	491	11.9	$4.8M	+1.7%	#537 of 2,222
36Appomattox County, VA	64	8	12.1	$2.8M	+6.3%	#592 of 2,222
37Shenandoah County, VA	63	23	12.8	$2.8M	+3.6%	#632 of 2,222
38Hanover County, VA	62	68	15.9	$3M	+5.6%	#662 of 2,222
39York County, VA	61	32	11.9	$4M	+1.6%	#679 of 2,222
40Suffolk city, VA	61	52	13.7	$3.1M	+10.4%	#705 of 2,222
41Gloucester County, VA	60	21	13.7	$2.9M	+3.6%	#761 of 2,222
42Henrico County, VA	58	179	13.0	$3.3M	+2.3%	#819 of 2,222
43Prince George County, VA	57	24	18.6	$2.2M	+2.0%	#878 of 2,222
44Chesapeake city, VA	53	135	14.4	$3M	+2.3%	#1,020 of 2,222
45Richmond city, VA	53	139	13.3	$2.7M	+4.6%	#1,031 of 2,222
46Fairfax city, VA	53	19	20.8	$2.5M	+10.8%	#1,037 of 2,222
47Rockbridge County, VA	50	14	14.7	$2.4M	0.0%	#1,150 of 2,222
48Manassas city, VA	49	26	18.3	$2.6M	+3.9%	#1,182 of 2,222
49Washington County, VA	49	29	13.1	$2.6M	0.0%	#1,183 of 2,222
50Lancaster County, VA	49	8	14.0	$2.6M	+0.9%	#1,187 of 2,222
51Amherst County, VA	48	18	14.2	$2.5M	+2.1%	#1,237 of 2,222
52Page County, VA	47	10	10.1	$3.2M	+0.3%	#1,248 of 2,222
53Scott County, VA	47	9	9.9	$3M	−1.8%	#1,256 of 2,222
54Virginia Beach city, VA	45	251	14.0	$3.1M	−1.3%	#1,333 of 2,222
55Dickenson County, VA	43	6	10.1	$2.8M	−6.0%	#1,394 of 2,222
56Russell County, VA	43	12	11.2	$2.7M	−1.7%	#1,398 of 2,222
57Campbell County, VA	43	31	13.9	$2.5M	+0.1%	#1,405 of 2,222
58Accomack County, VA	43	21	14.5	$2.3M	+1.4%	#1,409 of 2,222
59Falls Church city, VA	42	16	25.5	$2.2M	+3.3%	#1,454 of 2,222
60Carroll County, VA	42	19	15.1	$2.1M	+0.5%	#1,456 of 2,222
61Radford city, VA	41	7	12.6	$2.5M	+7.0%	#1,464 of 2,222
62Giles County, VA	41	9	13.4	$2.5M	−1.3%	#1,465 of 2,222
63Lee County, VA	39	10	11.7	$2.4M	−2.1%	#1,534 of 2,222
64Henry County, VA	37	24	11.4	$2.6M	−3.1%	#1,594 of 2,222
65Buchanan County, VA	37	8	10.6	$2.6M	−8.7%	#1,596 of 2,222
66Hampton city, VA	36	85	14.6	$2.4M	0.0%	#1,636 of 2,222
67Fredericksburg city, VA	36	38	32.4	$1.3M	+8.6%	#1,660 of 2,222
68Nottoway County, VA	35	7	12.5	$2.6M	+1.0%	#1,666 of 2,222
69Essex County, VA	33	6	13.5	$2.4M	+0.5%	#1,738 of 2,222
70Montgomery County, VA	33	63	17.0	$2.2M	−1.2%	#1,744 of 2,222
71Halifax County, VA	32	17	12.5	$2.5M	−1.4%	#1,774 of 2,222
72Staunton city, VA	32	22	19.5	$1.7M	+3.8%	#1,789 of 2,222
73Greensville County, VA	32	6	18.8	$1.7M	−1.8%	#1,792 of 2,222
74Prince Edward County, VA	32	16	20.9	$1.6M	+2.3%	#1,794 of 2,222
75Portsmouth city, VA	31	52	12.9	$2.6M	−1.2%	#1,800 of 2,222
76Sussex County, VA	30	5	13.2	$2.6M	−0.4%	#1,834 of 2,222
77Alleghany County, VA	30	10	15.7	$2M	−4.2%	#1,848 of 2,222
78Hopewell city, VA	29	12	13.0	$2.5M	+1.1%	#1,864 of 2,222
79Petersburg city, VA	27	18	11.9	$2.5M	+1.0%	#1,917 of 2,222
80Newport News city, VA	27	115	15.1	$2.3M	−1.5%	#1,919 of 2,222
81Waynesboro city, VA	27	20	20.3	$1.6M	+7.5%	#1,934 of 2,222
82Williamsburg city, VA	26	19	37.8	$1M	+2.6%	#1,960 of 2,222
83Colonial Heights city, VA	26	29	38.5	$969K	+3.2%	#1,961 of 2,222
84Mecklenburg County, VA	25	24	17.7	$1.9M	+1.5%	#1,976 of 2,222
85Salem city, VA	23	27	26.3	$1.4M	+1.7%	#2,010 of 2,222
86Norfolk city, VA	22	157	16.5	$2.2M	−2.9%	#2,012 of 2,222
87Northampton County, VA	21	10	18.4	$2M	−2.8%	#2,032 of 2,222
88Smyth County, VA	21	20	15.8	$1.9M	−3.0%	#2,034 of 2,222
89Pulaski County, VA	19	26	18.0	$1.9M	−0.6%	#2,071 of 2,222
90Roanoke city, VA	19	76	17.4	$1.8M	−0.8%	#2,072 of 2,222
91Charlottesville city, VA	19	48	24.2	$1.6M	−4.4%	#2,075 of 2,222
92Lynchburg city, VA	19	71	24.7	$1.3M	+3.0%	#2,079 of 2,222
93Wise County, VA	17	24	17.3	$1.7M	−3.5%	#2,106 of 2,222
94Winchester city, VA	17	36	31.3	$1.1M	+1.0%	#2,111 of 2,222
95Wythe County, VA	16	30	23.9	$1.3M	−1.2%	#2,125 of 2,222
96Martinsville city, VA	15	14	24.5	$1.2M	+2.8%	#2,143 of 2,222
97Tazewell County, VA	12	32	19.6	$1.5M	−4.4%	#2,173 of 2,222
98Harrisonburg city, VA	11	51	29.4	$1.2M	−1.7%	#2,188 of 2,222
99Danville city, VA	4	48	25.2	$1.2M	−2.2%	#2,218 of 2,222
100Bristol city, VA	3	26	36.0	$861K	−5.2%	#2,221 of 2,222
Fluvanna County, VA	Not scored	4	3.9	$11.1M	+6.2%
Southampton County, VA	Not scored	3	4.4	$8.1M	+0.9%
Patrick County, VA	Not scored	3	3.9	$8.4M	−0.9%
Buckingham County, VA	Not scored	2	3.2	$10.4M	+1.9%
Manassas Park city, VA	Not scored	4	7.7	$5.8M	−3.5%
Brunswick County, VA	Not scored	1	1.5	$20.4M	−0.6%
Floyd County, VA	Not scored	3	4.5	$7.5M	+2.1%
Grayson County, VA	Not scored	1	1.6	$18.8M	−0.3%
Clarke County, VA	Not scored	3	5.1	$9.2M	+5.4%
Nelson County, VA	Not scored	2	3.1	$12.5M	+1.2%
Amelia County, VA	Not scored	4	7.4	$4.8M	+2.7%
Northumberland County, VA	Not scored	3	5.3	$6.8M	+6.1%
Lunenburg County, VA	Not scored	3	6.3	$4.9M	+0.9%
Charlotte County, VA	Not scored	1	2.1	$15.1M	−1.2%
Middlesex County, VA	Not scored	3	6.3	$5.9M	+2.2%
Cumberland County, VA	Not scored	2	5.0	$6.8M	+6.9%
Richmond County, VA	Not scored	7	22.0	$1.6M	+4.2%
Mathews County, VA	Not scored	3	7.5	$5.1M	+0.1%
Franklin city, VA	Not scored	12	34.7	$932K	+4.1%
Lexington city, VA	Not scored	9	41.2	$913K	+6.2%
Rappahannock County, VA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+1.6%
Galax city, VA	Not scored	7	25.3	$1.2M	−0.7%
King and Queen County, VA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+2.4%
Charles City County, VA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.8%
Buena Vista city, VA	Not scored	5	19.6	$1.5M	+0.9%
Surry County, VA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+0.8%
Bland County, VA	Not scored	3	12.6	$2.7M	−1.7%
Covington city, VA	Not scored	7	27.2	$969K	−1.2%
Emporia city, VA	Not scored	12	55.6	$568K	−4.4%
Craig County, VA	Not scored	2	11.5	$3.2M	−1.6%
Bath County, VA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.6%
Norton city, VA	Not scored	8	49.8	$555K	−5.5%
Highland County, VA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+3.4%

Markets with fewer than 5 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Virginia?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 4,457 fast food and sandwich shops in Virginia. 3,721 of them (83%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 7,145 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.6% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Official counts also show 1,181 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Virginia spend on food away from home?

About $14.7B a year, or $4,372 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4,457 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.3M 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 3,365,732 households in Virginia and national spending patterns by income.

How does Virginia compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

Virginia has 13.2 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.3M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Virginia would have about 4,823, against 4,457 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 471 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

Which market in Virginia has the highest market score for fast food and sandwich shops?

Among 11 scored metro areas in or partly in Virginia, the Charlottesville metro area scores highest, at 76 (high). Among 4 scored small-town markets in or partly in Virginia, the Lake of the Woods area scores highest, at 79 (high). Among 100 scored counties in Virginia, Goochland County scores highest, at 98 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Virginia scores 56 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #23 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Virginia. 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.

Restaurants and cafes32,948 listings
Sit-down restaurants19,235 listings
Pizza2,541 listings
Coffee shops and cafes2,910 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops2,847 listings

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