Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Virginia

Fast food and sandwich shops in Hanover County, VA

How Hanover County, VA compares with other counties and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #662 of 2,222 scored counties
#38 of 100 scored counties in Virginia

Listings
68
57 chain locations (84%)
Official establishments
90
All limited-service restaurants · +7.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$201.5M
On food away from home · $4,721 a household
Spending per listing
$3M
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.9
20% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
116,423
+5.6% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Hanover County

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 Hanover County. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 68 fast food and sandwich shops in Hanover County. 57 of them (84%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. That is 15.9 per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Hanover County comes to about $201.5M a year: $4,721 per household, 16% above the U.S. average. That is about $3M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 3% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Hanover County was 90 in 2023, up 7.1% from 2019. That is one for every 474 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. Official counts also show 17 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $4.1M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Hanover County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Hanover County grew 5.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For fast food and sandwich shops, Hanover County has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #662 of 2,222 scored counties and #38 of 100 scored counties in Virginia.

How Hanover County compares

The same measures for Virginia 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 Hanover County, VA compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureHanover CountyVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.913.213.3
Spending per listing$3M$3.3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)474471478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+7.1%+3.6%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.6%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,721$4,372$4,070
Median household income$112,805$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score6256

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
84 → 90All limited-service restaurants · +7.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,619
Annual payroll, 2023
$32.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
17All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6857 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
66The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$4.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Hanover County, 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 Hanover County

Population, 2025 estimate
116,423+5.6% since 2020
Households
42,688
Median age
43.4
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
468 sq. mi.
People per square mile
241
Median household income
$112,805+26.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$139,805
Median home value
$400,400
Jobs located here
61,897
Daytime population
116,596Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hanover County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Hanover County. 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 Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Virginia for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Virginia, with Hanover County marked.

Top counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Goochland County, VA9876.8$7.4M+17.4%#1 of 2,222
2New Kent County, VA951010.8$4.5M+21.2%#4 of 2,222
3Powhatan County, VA9487.1$6.6M+7.0%#5 of 2,222
4Louisa County, VA93117.1$5.8M+13.6%#7 of 2,222
5Greene County, VA8867.5$5.7M+6.6%#27 of 2,222
6Rockingham County, VA88247.3$5.3M+6.6%#28 of 2,222
7Albemarle County, VA88459.8$4.7M+5.1%#30 of 2,222
8Caroline County, VA861310.8$3.7M+11.3%#48 of 2,222
9Isle of Wight County, VA84148.9$4.8M+6.7%#75 of 2,222
10Bedford County, VA84278.2$4.7M+4.4%#76 of 2,222
38Hanover County, VA626815.9$3M+5.6%#662 of 2,222

Other business types in Hanover County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Hanover County, VA?

There are 68 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in Hanover County as of September 2026. 57 of them (84%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 90 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 7.1% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Another 17 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Hanover County, VA spend on food away from home?

About $201.5M a year, or $4,721 per household. That is 16% above the U.S. average (an index of 116, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 68 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3M 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 42,688 households in Hanover County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Hanover County, VA compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

Hanover County has 15.9 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Hanover County would have about 66, against 68 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 474 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Hanover County, VA growing?

Population estimates put Hanover County at 116,423 people in 2025, up 5.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 42,688 households. The median household income in Hanover County is $112,805 a year, 40% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.2% 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. Hanover County scores 62 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #662 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Hanover County. 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 Hanover County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hanover County?

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 Hanover County. 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.