America's 50 Biggest Fast-Food Chains, by the Numbers
The fast-food chain with the most restaurants in America is not McDonald's. It is not close, and it is not getting closer. But if you rank the chains by what customers actually spend, the story flips so hard it barely looks like the same industry. I put the 2024 QSR Magazine Top 50 — US systemwide sales, store counts, and sales per location — on a map you can explore here. These are the numbers behind it.
McDonald's sells as much as its next two rivals combined
McDonald's did about $53.5 billion in US systemwide sales in 2024. Starbucks is second at $30.4 billion, and Chick-fil-A third at $22.7 billion. Add those two together and you get $53.1 billion — McDonald's, alone, sells about as much as the next two chains combined, and it takes nearly 18 cents of every dollar spent at the top 50.
Subway has the most stores and the least impressive stores
Subway has roughly 19,500 US locations, about 44% more than McDonald's. Its systemwide sales are $9.7 billion — about 18% of McDonald's — which works out to roughly $495,000 per location per year, an eighth of McDonald's $4 million. No chain on the list is shrinking faster, either: Subway's year-over-year sales fell by about $631 million, more than any other name in the top 50.
Chick-fil-A does twice McDonald's per store, on a six-day week
The most striking column is sales per unit. Chick-fil-A averages about $7.5 million per location — nearly double McDonald's — from just 3,109 stores, while staying closed every Sunday. Raising Cane's ($6.6 million per unit) and In-N-Out ($5.2 million) prove the limited-menu model travels: fewer things, done fast, at volume.
| Chain | US sales, 2024 | US locations | Sales per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald's | $53,469M | 13,559 | $4,002K |
| Starbucks | $30,400M | 16,935 | $1,800K |
| Chick-fil-A | $22,746M | 3,109 | $7,500K |
| Taco Bell | $16,200M | 7,604 | $2,130K |
| Wendy's | $12,554M | 5,933 | $2,098K |
| Dunkin' | $12,468M | 9,768 | $1,300K |
| Chipotle | $11,111M | 3,644 | $3,213K |
| Burger King | $10,980M | 6,701 | $1,639K |
| Subway | $9,653M | 19,502 | $495K |
| Domino's | $9,500M | 7,014 | $1,354K |
Who is growing: chicken and sandwiches
The fastest sales growth in the top 50 belongs to Starbucks (+$589M), Krispy Krunchy Chicken (+$325M), Jersey Mike's (+$313M), Wingstop (+$278M), and Chipotle (+$273M). Read the list as one trend: Americans are paying more for chicken and better sandwiches. Meanwhile the mid-century giants are all sliding — KFC (−$122M), Hardee's (−$110M), Wendy's (−$97M), and Burger King (−$77M) — and Subway is the biggest loser of all.