Markets
Ranked: The Most Popular Fast Food Brands in America
Ranked: The Most Popular Fast Food Brands in America
Ever since the McDonald brothers created the concept of fast food in 1940, the restaurantโs golden arches have continued to beckon customers to its quick, cheap, and tasty meals.
McDonaldโs is still the most popular fast food brand in America todayโwith $46 billion in systemwide sales last year.
This graphic uses data from a report on Americaโs top 50 fast food chains by Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Magazine. The popular brands are sized by their 2021 systemwide sales and broken down into six broad categories: Burger, Chicken, Snack, Pizza, Sandwich, and Global.
Note: a number of these figures are estimates. Unofficial figures are noted in the graphic with an asterisk.
The Most Popular Fast Food Companies
Itโs indisputable that McDonaldโs is Americaโs favorite fast food restaurant, if not the worldโs. McDonaldโs sales are almost double the second the place restaurantโs, Starbucksโtotaling $46 billion compared to the coffee shop’s $24 billion.
Hereโs a closer look at the numbers:
Rank | Company | Systemwideย Sales (2021) | Category |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | McDonald's | $46.0 billion | Burger |
#2 | Starbucks | $24.3 billion | Snack |
#3 | Chick-fil-A | $16.7 billion | Chicken |
#4 | Taco Bell | $12.6 billion | Global |
#5 | Wendy's | $11.1 billion | Burger |
#6 | Dunkin' | $10.4 billion | Snack |
#7 | Burger King | $10.0 billion | Burger |
#8 | Subway | $9.4 billion | Sandwich |
#9 | Domino's | $8.6 billion | Pizza |
#10 | Chipotle | $7.5 billion | Global |
#11 | Sonic Drive-In | $5.8 billion | Burger |
#12 | Panera Bread | $5.7 billion | Sandwich |
#13 | Pizza Hut | $5.5 billion | Pizza |
#14 | KFC | $5.1 billion | Chicken |
#15 | Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | $4.8 billion | Chicken |
#16 | Dairy Queen | $4.5 billion | Snack |
#17 | Arby's | $4.5 billion | Sandwich |
#18 | Panda Express | $4.5 billion | Global |
#19 | Little Caesars | $4.2 billion | Pizza |
#20 | Jack in the Box | $4.1 billion | Burger |
#21 | Papa Johns | $3.5 billion | Pizza |
#22 | Whataburger | $2.7 billion | Burger |
#23 | Culver's | $2.5 billion | Burger |
#24 | Raising Caine's | $2.4 billion | Chicken |
#25 | Jimmy John's | $2.3 billion | Sandwich |
#26 | Wingstop | $2.3 billion | Chicken |
#27 | Zaxby's | $2.2 billion | Chicken |
#28 | Jersey Mike's | $2.2 billion | Sandwich |
#29 | Hardee's | $2.1 billion | Burger |
#30 | Five Guys | $2.1 billion | Burger |
#31 | Carl's Jr. | $1.6 billion | Burger |
#32 | Bojangles | $1.5 billion | Chicken |
#33 | In-N-Out Burger | $1.2 billion | Burger |
#34 | Firehouse Subs | $1.0 billion | Sandwich |
#35 | Krispy Kreme | $996 million | Snack |
#36 | Pel Pollo Loco | $973 million | Chicken |
#37 | Tropical Smoothie Cafe | $948 million | Snack |
#38 | Del Taco | $931 million | Global |
#39 | Checkers/Rally's | $931 million | Burger |
#40 | Marco's Pizza | $899 million | Pizza |
#41 | McAlister's Deli | $869 million | Sandwich |
#42 | Qdoba | $835 million | Global |
#43 | Papa Murphy's | $809 million | Pizza |
#44 | Church's Chicken | $776 million | Chicken |
#45 | Shake Shack | $775 million | Burger |
#46 | Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburger | $759 million | Burger |
#47 | Tim Hortons | $687 million | Snack |
#48 | Baskin-Robbins | $686 million | Snack |
#49 | Moe's | $661 million | Global |
#50 | White Castle | $615 million | Burger |
Most of the top 20 restaurants are extremely well known, like Chick-fil-A in third place and Taco Bell in fourth. Some of these chains, however, will be unrecognizable depending on which part of the U.S. you live in. While Bojangles is ubiquitous in the Southeast, for example, many on the West Coast may have never heard of it.
Some of the lower ranking restaurants include Shake Shack (#45), White Castle (#50), and the Canadian-founded Tim Hortons (#47).
Fast Food Industry Trends
Americaโs fast food industry is expected to generate $331 billion in sales in 2022, and many restaurants are capitalizing on trends shaped in part by the pandemic.
Fast food companies are already somewhat ideal for pandemic conditions with drive-thrus, fast service, and a model that doesnโt encourage sitting down to eat.
Looking to the future, Starbucks, for example, has claimed 90% of its new stores will feature drive-thrus.ย Digital sales and transactions that limit contact, making fast food even more quick and convenient, are growing as well. Starbucksโ mobile order service has grown 400% over the last five years. And in 2021, the delivery side of their business grew 30% year-over-year, according to the QSR report.
Additionally, the report featured 50 up-and-coming fast food companies to watch in the industry. Here’s a look:
Rank | Company | Systemwide Sales (2021) | Category |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | Smoothie King | $602 million | Snack |
#2 | Habit Burger | $600 million | Burger |
#3 | Auntie Anne's | $576 million | Snack |
#4 | Captain D's | $567 million | Seafood |
#5 | Steak 'N' Shake | $539 million | Burger |
#6 | Portillo's | $526 million | Snack |
#7 | Jamba | $505 million | Snack |
#8 | Schlotzsky's | $332 million | Sandwich |
#9 | Krystal | $323 million | Burger |
#10 | Fazoli's | $298 million | Global |
#11 | Pizza Ranch | $279 million | Pizza |
#12 | Scooter's Coffee | $263 million | Snack |
#13 | Penn Station | $258 million | Sandwich |
#14 | Chicken Salad Chick | $255 million | Chicken |
#15 | Mountain Mike's | $254 million | Pizza |
#16 | Smashburger | $253 million | Burger |
#17 | Cinnabon | $224 million | Snack |
#18 | Wetzel's | $219 million | Snack |
#19 | Donatos | $211 million | Pizza |
#20 | Newk's | $208 million | Sandwich |
#21 | Bonchon | $173 million | Chicken |
#22 | Waba Grill | $170 million | Global |
#23 | The Human Bean | $109 million | Snack |
#24 | Capriotti's | $108 million | Sandwich |
#25 | Great Harvest Bread Company | $108 million | Sandwich |
#26 | Teriyaki Madness | $90 million | Global |
#27 | Roy Rogers | $82 million | Burger |
#28 | Pizza Guys | $79 million | Pizza |
#29 | Mooyah | $71 million | Burger |
#30 | Salsarita's | $68 million | Global |
#31 | Dog Haus | $67 million | Snack |
#32 | Gold Star | $61 million | Burger |
#33 | Hawaiian Bros | $55 million | Global |
#34 | Honeygrow | $55 million | Global |
#35 | Robeks | $50 million | Snack |
#36 | PJโs Coffee of New Orleans | $46 million | Snack |
#37 | Kolache Factory | $46 million | Snack |
#38 | Juice it Up! | $43 million | Snack |
#39 | Happy Joe's | $38 million | Pizza |
#40 | Rusty Taco | $35 million | Global |
#41 | Wing Zone | $34 million | Chicken |
#42 | Swig | $29 million | Snack |
#43 | Pickleman's | $29 million | Sandwich |
#44 | Killer Burger | $17 million | Burger |
#45 | Wing Snob | $15 million | Chicken |
#46 | Sobol | $13 million | Global |
#47 | Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii | $12 million | Snack |
#48 | Asian Box | $11 million | Global |
#49 | Sauce on the Side | $9 million | Global |
#50 | Mici Italian | $6 million | Global |
Some of these are well-established fast food joints that are simply growing their sales, like Cinnabon, while others are newer to the scene.
America’s Favorite Fast Food
Using the rankingโs food categories, we calculated the total sales in each category from the top 50 to figure out which foods are Americaโs favorites. The winner is evidently burgers, with $92.2 billion in collective sales. Hereโs a look at the breakdown:
Rank | Food Category | Category Cumulative Sales |
---|---|---|
#1 | Burger | $92.2 billion |
#2 | Snack | $42.5 billion |
#3 | Chicken | $36.7 billion |
#4 | Global | $27.0 billion |
#5 | Sandwich | $25.9 billion |
#6 | Pizza | $23.5 billion |
Sales at Burger restaurants were more than double the runner-up, which was Snacks. After all, nothing is more American than a classic hamburger and fries.
Markets
Mapped: 2023 Inflation Forecasts by Country
Inflation surged on a global scale in 2022, hitting record-level highs in many countries. Could it finally subside in 2023?

Mapped: 2023 Inflation Forecasts by Country
This was originally posted on Advisor Channel. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on financial markets that help advisors and their clients.
Inflation surged on a global scale in 2022, hitting record-level highs in many countries. Could it finally subside in 2023?
In the above infographic, we look to answer that question using the World Economic Outlook report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Not Yet Out of the Woods
While the IMF predicts that global inflation peaked in late 2022, rates in 2023 are expected to remain higher than usual in many parts of the world. Following the 8.8% global inflation rate in 2022, the IMF forecasts a 6.6% rate for 2023 and 4.3% rate for 2024 based on their most recent January 2023 update.
For the optimists, the good news is that the double-digit inflation that characterized nearly half the world in 2022 is expected to be less prevalent this year. For the pessimists, on the other hand, looking at countries like Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Turkey, and Poland may suggest that we are far from out of the woods on a global scale.
Here are the countries with the highest forecasted inflation rates in 2023.
Country / Region | Projected Annual Inflation % Change 2023 |
---|---|
๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | 204.6% |
๐ป๐ช Venezuela | 195.0% |
๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan | 76.9% |
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | 76.1% |
๐น๐ท Turkiye | 51.2% |
๐ฎ๐ท Islamic Republic of Iran | 40.0% |
๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | 29.5% |
๐ช๐น Ethiopia | 28.6% |
๐ธ๐ท Suriname | 27.2% |
๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone | 26.8% |
๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan | 21.7% |
๐ญ๐น Haiti | 21.2% |
๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | 20.9% |
๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | 19.9% |
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | 17.3% |
๐พ๐ช Yemen | 17.1% |
๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | 16.5% |
๐ต๐ฑ Poland | 14.3% |
๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | 13.8% |
๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar | 13.3% |
๐ญ๐บ Hungary | 13.3% |
๐ง๐พ Belarus | 13.1% |
๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyz Republic | 12.4% |
๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea | 12.2% |
๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia | 12.2% |
๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | 12.0% |
๐ฆ๐ด Angola | 11.8% |
๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | 11.3% |
๐ธ๐น Sรฃo Tomรฉ and Prรญncipe | 11.2% |
๐ท๐ด Romania | 11.0% |
๐บ๐ฟ Uzbekistan | 10.8% |
๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan | 10.8% |
๐น๐ฒ Turkmenistan | 10.5% |
๐ธ๐ฐ Slovak Republic | 10.1% |
๐จ๐ฌ Democratic Republic of the Congo | 9.8% |
๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | 9.6% |
๐ช๐ช Estonia | 9.5% |
๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro | 9.2% |
๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | 9.1% |
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 9.0% |
While the above countries fight to sustain their purchasing power, some parts of the world are expected to continue faring exceptionally well against the backdrop of a widespread cost-of-living crisis. Many Asian countries, notably Japan, Taiwan, and China, are all predicted to see inflation lower than 3% in the upcoming year.
When it comes to low inflation, Japan in particular stands out. With strict price controls, negative interest rates, and an aging population, the country is expected to see an inflation rate of just 1.4% in 2023.
Inflation Drivers
While rising food and energy prices accounted for much of the inflation we saw in 2022, the IMF’s World Economic Outlook highlights that core inflation, which excludes food, energy, transport and housing prices, is now also a major driving factor in high inflation rates around the world.
What makes up core inflation exactly? In this case, it would include things like supply chain cost pressures and the effects of high energy prices slowly trickling down into numerous industries and trends in the labor market, such as the availability of jobs and rising wages. As these macroeconomic factors play out throughout 2023, each can have an effect on inflation.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are also still at play in this yearโs inflation forecasts. While the latter mainly played out in China in 2022, the possible resurgence of new variants continues to threaten economic recovery worldwide, and the war persists in leaving a mark internationally.
The confluence of macroeconomic factors currently at play is unlike what weโve seen in a long time. Though the expertise of forecasters can give us a general understanding, how they will actually play out is for us to wait and see.
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