Ranked: Biggest Fast Food Chains in America

Ranked: The Biggest Fast Food Chains in America

Fast food is a supersized business in America.

The average American spends as much as $1,200 every year on fast food — and roughly a quarter of the U.S. population eats three or more fast food meals per week.

Today’s unique infographic, via TitleMax, shows just how dominant the quick serve food industry is, and which brands are leading the pack in terms of revenue and store locations.

Billions Served

All of the biggest fast food chains now top $1 billion in sales annually. McDonald’s leads the pack with almost triple the sales of the number two chain, Starbucks.

Below are the top 30 fast food chains in the United States by revenue:

Rank	Chain	Sales (U.S., 2017)	# of Locations (U.S.)
1	McDonald's	$37.5B	14,036
2	Starbucks	$13.2B	13,930
3	Subway	$10.8B	25,908
4	Burger King	$9.8B	7,226
5	Taco Bell	$9.3B	6,446
6	Wendy's	$9.3B	5,769
7	Dunkin' Donuts	$5.9B	12,538
8	Chick-fil-A	$9.0B	2,225
9	Domino's	$5.9B	5,587
10	Pizza Hut	$5.5B	7,522
11	Panera Bread	$4.5B	2,043
12	Chipotle	$4.5B	2,371
13	KFC	$4.4B	4,019
14	Sonic Drive-In	$4.4B	3,593
15	Dairy Queen	$3.6B	4,455
16	Arby's	$3.6B	3,415
17	Little Caesars	$3.5B	4,332
18	Jack in the Box	$3.5B	2,251
19	Popeye's	$3.2B	2,231
20	Papa John's	$3.1B	3,314
21	Panda Express	$2.3B	2,011
22	Whataburger	$2.3B	821
23	Hardee's	$2.2B	1,864
24	Jimmy John's	$2.1B	2,755
25	Zaxby's	$2.1B	890
26	Carl's Jr.	$1.5B	1,156
27	Five Guys	$1.4B	1,321
28	Culver's	$1.4B	643
29	Bojangles'	$1.3B	764
30	Wingstop	$1.1B	1,027

In 2017, the top 30 fast food chains rang up $172 billion in sales at over 140,000 locations across the United States. When smaller chains are also included, annual industry revenue tops a whopping $200 billion.

Location, Location

Fast food can be a profitable business, but certain chains are runaway successes when sales-per-unit are considered. Chick-fil-A’s sales average out to $4.3 million per location — 53% higher than McDonald’s, which brings in $2.8 million of sales per location.

Subway, which is known for having a low franchise fee and no exclusive territory rights, has the lowest sales-per-unit in the top 30 ($419,792).

That said, no one can compare to Subway in terms of sheer volume. The chain has over 25,000 locations, making it not only the biggest fast food chain in the country, but the most common retailer overall (even beating out dollar stores). It’s possible that America has seen peak Subway though — the number of locations has been steadily dropping since 2011.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Starbucks. The Seattle-based coffee chain has been relentlessly expanding over the past decade.

Regional Preferences

Of course, not all fast food chains have the ubiquity of Subway and McDonald’s. Many of these brands have achieved impressive sales numbers in specific regions. Whether you’re loyal to Dunkin’ Donuts, Chick-fil-A, or In-N-Out may depend heavily on where you live.

Source

Will America’s next big fast food powerhouse come from an already-strong regional chain, or will it be the result of a new phenomenon, completely?