Here Are the Most Popular Fast Food Brands in America
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Key points
- The top fast food brands are all familiar names: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and KFC.
- McDonald’s serves 69 million people every day, more than the population of Thailand and the United Kingdom.
- Americans now spend more on fast food than they do on groceries.
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The fast food industry is a multibillion-dollar business in the United States. Bouncing back from the pandemic, the industry is expected to generate $331 billion dollars this year. There’s no doubt that Americans love their fast food. And with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to know which brands are the most popular. The top fast food brands are all familiar names: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and KFC.
Most popular fast food companies
McDonald’s is by far the most popular fast food chain in the United States. It has about 13,500 locations in the U.S., 40,000 worldwide, and it operates in 118 countries. McDonald’s serves 69 million people every day, more than the population of Thailand and the United Kingdom.
Starbucks is No. 2, driven by the Starbucks Card program and Starbucks’ mobile order and pay. No. 3 is Chick-fil-A, which is about three times smaller than Taco Bell in terms of location numbers, but brings in 33% more revenue. Chick-fil-A is arguably the fastest growing fast food brand in the country, in fact. Taco Bell and Wendy’s round out the top five. A new Taco Bell opened on average every two hours this past year.
We’ve compiled a list of the most popular fast food brands in America, based on total 2021 U.S. sales and locations.
Brand
Systemwide sales, 2021
Number of locations
McDonald’s
$45.96 billion
13,458 locations
Starbucks
$24.3 billion
15,450 locations
Chick-fil-A
$16.7 billion
2,732 locations
Taco Bell
$12.6 billion
7,002 locations
Wendy’s
$11.1 billion
5,938 locations
Dunkin’:
$10.4 billion
9,244 locations
Burger King
$10 billion
7,105 locations
Subway
$9.4 billion
21,147 locations
Domino’s
$8.6 billion
6,560 locations
Chipotle
$7.5 billion
2,966 locations
Sonic Drive-In
$5.8 billion
3,552 locations
Panera Bread
$5.7 billion
2,080 locations
Pizza Hut
$5.5 billion
6,548 locations
KFC
$5.1 billion
3,953 locations
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
$4.5 billion
2,754 locations
Dairy Queen
$4.5 billion
4,339 locations
Arby’s
$4.5 billion
3,409 locations
Panda Express
$4.5 billion
2,334 locations
Little Caesars
$4.2 billion
4,181 locations
Jack in the Box
$4.1 billion
2,218 locations
Papa Johns
$3.5 billion
3,164 locations
Whataburger
$2.7 billion
873 locations
Culver’s
$2.5 billion
837 locations
Raising Caine’s
$2.4 billion
567 locations
Jimmy John’s
$2.3 billion
2,657 locations
Wingstop
$2.3 billion
1,534 locations
Zaxby’s
$2.2 billion
908 locations
Jersey Mike’s
$2.2 billion
2,100 locations
Hardee’s
$2.1 billion
1,734 locations
Five Guys
$2.1 billion
1,390 locations
Carl’s Jr.
$1.6 billion
1,058 locations
Bojangles
$1.5 billion
773 locations
In-N-Out Burger
$1.2 billion
370 locations
Firehouse Subs
$1 billion
1,140 locations
Krispy Kreme
$996 million
358 locations
El Pollo Loco
$973 million
481 locations
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
$948 million
1,039 locations
Del Taco
$931 million
600 locations
Checkers/Rally’s
$931 million
834 locations
Marco’s Pizza
$899 million
1,002 locations
McAlister’s Deli
$869 million
505 locations
Qdoba
$835 million
739 locations
Papa Murphy’s
$809 million
1,240 locations
Shake Shack
$777 million
243 locations
Church’s Chicken
$776 million
892 locations
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburger
$759 million
420 locations
Tim Hortons
$687 million
637 locations
Baskin-Robbins
$686 million
2,317 locations
Moe’s
$661 million
659 locations
White Castle
$615 million
349 locations
Data source: QSR magazine.
There are many different types of fast food restaurants, ranging from global chains like McDonald’s and KFC, to local businesses like burger joints and pizza places. Today, fast food is a staple of the American diet. In fact, Americans now spend more on fast food than they do on groceries. This is partly due to the recession, as people have had to make changes to their personal finances and have in a lot of cases turned to cheap and convenient meals instead of cooking at home. But it’s also due to the rising popularity and ease of accessing fast food chains’ fare via methods such as food delivery apps.
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