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During the COVID pandemic, restaurants throughout the United States have been required to shut down or only offer takeout and delivery services for several months. As a result, one specific type of restaurant – the fast-food chain eateries have seen a rise in traffic.
There are 197,653 Fast Food Restaurants businesses in the United States as of 2021, an expansion of 1.1 percent from 2020. According to IBISWorld, Pennsylvania (271 businesses), Missouri (175), and North Carolina (171) are the States with the most number of Fast Food Restaurants businesses in the United States.
But every U.S. state has its preference: peoples in New York have been gathering at Sbarro and McDonald’s while folks in California seem to be partial to Denny’s and Starbucks.
The map below created by @Jollibee displays America’s favorite fast-food chain in each state, according to Public Information and Statistics Society’s data.
Favorite fast-food chain by U.S. state.
But active Internet users have their preferences for fast food. Here is the map created by ApplianceAnalysts that shows favorite fast food by U.S. state based on Google search volume.
Favorite fast-food chain by state based on Google search volume
According to this map, McDonald’s rules the United States, while the West Coast loves coffee, and Pizza passion are high in the South.
Fast-Food Chain
Established In
Most Loved In
Arby’s
Ohio, 1964
Wyoming
Burger King
Florida, 1954
South Dakota
Chick-fil-A
Georgia, 1946
Georgia
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Colorado, 1993
Washington
Culver’s
Wisconsin, 1984
Wisconsin
Dairy Queen
Illinois, 1940
North Dakota
Domino’s Pizza
Michigan, 1960
Wyoming
Dunkin’
Massachusetts, 1950
Rhode Island
Five Guys
Virginia, 1986
New Hampshire
In-N-Out Burger
California, 1948
California
Jack in the Box
California, 1951
California
Jollibee
Philippines, 1978
Hawaii
KFC
Utah, 1952
Rhode Island
McDonald’s
California, 1955
Vermont
Panda Express
California, 1983
Utah
Papa John’s Pizza
Indiana, 1984
Kentucky
Pizza Hut
Kansas, 1958
Mississippi
Popeyes
Louisiana, 1972
Louisiana
Sonic Drive-In
Oklahoma, 1953
Arkansas
Starbucks
Washington, 1971
California
Subway
Connecticut, 1965
Vermont
Taco Bell
California, 1962
Michigan
Wendy’s
Ohio, 1969
Ohio
Whataburger
Texas, 1950
Texas
White Castle
Kansas, 1921
Kentucky
But according to YouGov and the American Customer Satisfaction Index, many other fast-food restaurant chains will be the most popular across the country.
Per-capita distribution of top fast-food chains in the U.S.
John Nelson created a mini atlas of maps that shows the per-capita distribution of the most popular fast-food chains in the nation.
An interactive map showing the locations of all of the most popular fast-food chains’ restaurants can be found on Esri’s website.
The Top Ten Fast-Food Chains
Subway (26,887 stories) Subway’s highest sales are in California, Texas, and Florida. The brand has suffered falling revenue recently, with some people pointing to over-expansion. At $12 billion in U.S. sales, it falls behind Starbucks ($16 billion) and well behind McDonald’s ($36 billion).
McDonald’s (13,813 stories) The proportion of McDonald’s locations compared to the local population is remarkably consistent across the nation. Its per-capita presence in California is comparatively low, but due to its large population, California generates the most sales.
Starbucks (10,138 stories) Heavily concentrated in urban areas around the U.S., especially in the west, Starbucks’ highest sales are in California, Texas, and New York.
Pizza Hut (7,581 stories) Popular particularly in Kansas, the state of its founding, Pizza Hut is also proportionally common in western Oklahoma and northern Texas.
Dunkin’ Donuts (7,256 stories) A northeastern powerhouse, the Boston brand’s highest sales are in New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Burger King (6,642 stories) Strong particularly in the southeast, BK’s highest sales are in home state Florida, followed by California and New York.
Taco Bell (6,254 stories) Taco Bell locations are proportionally more common in the Midwest, and are only sparsely represented in northern states and the mountainous west.
Domino’s (5,480 stories) The proportional popularity of Domino’s is fairly consistent – except for an interesting dearth in the Appalachian region.
Wendy’s (5,250 stories) Strong particularly in the midwest, Wendy’s highest sales are in Florida, home state Ohio, and New York.
KFC (4,900 stories) KFC’s are proportionally popular in the inland Southeast, consistent with that region’s traditional love of fried foods.
