Misc
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.
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?
Misc
Ranked: America’s Best Universities
Evaluated on 19 different metrics, here’s the list of America’s best universities, led by 14 private schools.

Ranked: America’s Best Universities
The latest ranking of America’s best universities is here, perfectly timed for the approaching admissions season.
“Best” is of course subjective, and U.S. News and World Report has compiled 19 metrics on which they evaluated more than 400 national universities. Some of them include:
- Graduation rates & performance: A four-year rolling average of the proportion of each entering class earning a bachelor’s degree in six years or less. Performance is measured against predictions made by the publishers, and when beaten, the university gains a higher scoring.
- Peer assessment: A two-year weighted average of ratings from top academics—presidents, provosts and deans of admissions—on academic quality of peer institutions with which they are familiar.
- Financial resources: The average per student spend on instruction, research, student services and related educational expenditures in the 2021 fiscal year.
- Debt: A school’s average accumulated federal loan debt among borrowers only.
- Pell graduation rates & performance: the same calculation as stated above, but focused only on Pell Grant students, adjusted to give more credit to schools with larger Pell student proportions.
The website’s methodology section details how they sourced their data, the weights assigned to each metric, and their changes over the years.
From the hundreds assessed come the nearly 50 best universities that offer a variety of undergraduate majors, post-graduate programs, emphasize research, or award professional practice doctorates.
Which are the Best Universities in America?
At the top of the list, Princeton University is the best university in the country, known for its physics, economics, and international relations departments. Notably, it’s a rare Ivy league university that does not have a law, medical, or business school.
Here’s the full ranking of America’s best universities, along with annual tuition requirements.
Rank | School Name | State | Tuition |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Princeton University | New Jersey | $59,710 |
2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts | $60,156 |
3 | Harvard University | Massachusetts | $59,076 |
3 | Stanford University | California | $62,484 |
5 | Yale University | Connecticut | $64,700 |
6 | University of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | $66,104 |
7 | California Institute of Technology | California | $63,255 |
7 | Duke University | North Carolina | $66,172 |
9 | Brown University | Rhode Island | $68,230 |
9 | Johns Hopkins University | Maryland | $63,340 |
9 | Northwestern University | Illinois | $65,997 |
12 | Columbia University | New York | $65,524 |
12 | Cornell University | New York | $66,014 |
12 | University of Chicago | Illinois | $65,619 |
15 | University of California, Berkeley | California | $48,465 (out-state) $15,891 (in-state) |
15 | University of California, LA | California | $46,326 (out-state) $13,752 (in-state) |
17 | Rice University | Texas | $58,128 |
18 | Dartmouth College | New Hampshire | $65,511 |
18 | Vanderbilt University | Tennessee | $63,946 |
20 | University of Notre Dame | Indiana | $62,693 |
21 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | Michigan | $57,273 (out-state) $17,786 (in-state) |
22 | Georgetown University | Washington, DC | $65,082 |
22 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | North Carolina | $39,338 (out-state) $8,998 (in-state) |
24 | Carnegie Mellon University | Pennsylvania | $63,829 |
24 | Emory University | Georgia | $60,774 |
24 | University of Virginia | Virginia | $58,950 (out-state) $22,323 (in-state) |
24 | Washington University, St. Louis | Missouri | $62,982 |
28 | University of California, Davis | California | $46,043 (out-state) $15,266 (in-state) |
28 | University of California, San Diego | California | $48,630 (out-state) $16,056 (in-state) |
28 | University of Florida | Florida | $28,658 (out-state) $6,381 (in-state) |
28 | University of Southern California | California | $68,237 |
32 | University of Texas, Austin | Texas | $41,070 (out-state) $11,698 (in-state) |
33 | Georgia Institute of Technology | Georgia | $32,876 (out-state) $11,764 (in-state) |
33 | University of California, Irvine | California | $47,759 (out-state) $15,185 (in-state) |
35 | New York University | New York | $60,438 |
35 | University of California, Santa Barbara | California | $45,658 (out-state) $14,881 (in-state) |
35 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Illinois | $36,068 (out-state) $17,572 (in-state) |
35 | University of Wisconsin, Madison | Wisconsin | $40,603 (out-state) $11,205 (in-state) |
39 | Boston College | Massachusetts | $67,680 |
40 | Rutgers University, New Brunswick | New Jersey | $36,001 (out-state) $17,239 (in-state) |
40 | Tufts University | Massachusetts | $67,844 |
40 | University of Washington | Washington | $41,997 (out-state) $12,643 (in-state) |
43 | Boston University | Massachusetts | $65,168 |
43 | The Ohio State University | Ohio | $36,722 (out-state) $12,485 (in-state) |
43 | Purdue University, Main Campus | Indiana | $28,794 (out-state) $9,992 (in-state) |
46 | University of Maryland, College Park | Maryland | $40,306 (out-state) $11,505 (in-state) |
47 | Lehigh University | Pennsylvania | $62,180 |
47 | Texas A&M University | Texas | $40,607 (out-state) $12,413 (in-state) |
47 | University of Georgia | Georgia | $30,220 (out-state) $11,180 (in-state) |
47 | University of Rochester | New York | $64,384 |
47 | Virginia Tech | Virginia | $36,090 (out-state) $15,478 (in-state) |
47 | Wake Forest University | North Carolina | $64,758 |
53 | Case Western Reserve University | Ohio | $62,234 |
53 | Florida State University | Florida | $21,683 (out-state) $6,517 (in-state) |
53 | Northeastern University | Massachusetts | $63,141 |
53 | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities | Minnesota | $36,402 (out-state) $16,488 (in-state) |
53 | William & Mary | Virginia | $48,841 (out-state) $25,041 (in-state) |
MIT places second, and Harvard and Stanford tie for third. Yale rounds out the top five.
Private universities, including seven Ivy League colleges, dominate the top of the rankings. Meanwhile, the highest-ranked public schools are tied at 15th, both state schools in California.
For affordability, since the higher ranks are populated by private universities, there tends to be a broad correlation of better universities being more expensive. That said, the most expensive school in the top 50 ranks is actually the University of Southern California, tied at 28th, for $68,237/year.
As it happens, also tied at 28th, the University of Florida is the most affordable public school for in-state students ($6,381/year) and Florida State University tied at 53rd, is the most affordable for out-of-staters at $21,683/year.
However these costs are tuition-only, and don’t account for other necessary expenses: accommodation, food, and textbooks.
Best University versus Best “Fit”
Finding the best university for prospective students is more than just perusing a long ranking list.
Aside from the numerous schools present within each university—which can often be the best for specific majors—factors like location, proximity to family, campus culture, the non-academic pursuits (sports, extracurriculars, internships) are also taken into consideration.
In fact, research has found that just attaining a university degree improves future earnings potential and employability.
Furthermore, individual engagement at college (irrespective of the rank of the school in question) plays a far bigger role in learning and general well-being than simply attending a highly-ranked school.
However, for low income and minority students, attending a top-ranked school does improve future earnings considerably. For women, it also often results in delaying marriage and kids, which results in more work-hours and as a result, more pay.
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