The United States is, by far, the fast food capital of the world.
A study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2018 showed that 36.6% of American adults ate fast food on any given day. And with that level of consumption, it’s no surprise that America is the leading consumer of fast food globally: 38% of the fast food industry’s $1.1 trillion in global revenue was generated in the US in 2024, despite the country only making up 4.2% of the world’s population.
So, in this country of fast food lovers, who reigns supreme? Which state consumes the most fast food?
We analyzed data on the number of fast food restaurants and on fast food consumption in all 50 states in order to determine the fast food capitals of the USA.
But before we dive into our results, and the methodology we used to obtain them, let’s have a glance at some of the key findings. (Jump down to see our methodology)
Fast Food Capitals of America – Key Findings
- Out of all 50 states, Maryland placed first as the fast food capital of America – largely owing to the fact that it easily has the highest share of fast food restaurants as a percentage of total restaurants.
- Hawaii had the most fast food restaurants per capita, while Nevada placed first for fast food spending as a percentage of total food spending.
- At the other end of the spectrum, Idaho ranked lowest on the list, placing last in two of the three categories we examined (and almost last in the third category).
America’s Fast Food Capitals
We looked at three categories to determine our rankings:
- Fast food restaurants as a percentage of total restaurants in each state
- Number of fast food restaurants per capita in each state
- Spending on fast food restaurants as a percentage of total food spending in each state
After ranking states in each category individually and combining their scores, we were able to rank all 50 states on a scale of zero to 100. Here are the top 10:
Top Ten Fast Food States in America
| Rank | State | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 100.00 |
| 2 | Nevada | 97.24 |
| 3 | Illinois | 95.70 |
| 4 | New York | 95.68 |
| 5 | Hawaii | 94.85 |
| 6 | California | 84.62 |
| 7 | Ohio | 79.33 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 74.99 |
| 9 | New Mexico | 73.39 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 69.76 |
At first glance, a few things jump out about these results. For one thing, a number of the top spots on the list seem to be held by relatively dense, relatively wealthy states, several of which have large tourist economies.
This would seem to track with previously documented findings—for example, that the density of fast food restaurants is correlated with population density.
But there’s more to these findings than meets the eye, which we’ll see as we dig into the specifics. Let’s take a closer look at the numbers and learn more about fast food consumption habits in the United States.
Fast Food Restaurants as a Percentage of Total Restaurants
The first category we looked at was the proportion of the total restaurant scene that fast food restaurants make up in each state. Using data from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the US Census Bureau, we found the following results.
Top Five States with the Highest Percentage of Fast Food Restaurants
| State | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Maryland | 46.76% |
| New Mexico | 42.02% |
| Alabama | 40.76% |
| West Virginia | 40.01% |
| Virginia | 39.99% |
In Maryland, nearly half (46.76%) of restaurants are fast food restaurants. The national average is 35.70%, meaning the number in Maryland is 31% higher than the nation as a whole.
This is partially owing to the fact that Maryland has an unusually small number of total restaurants—187.26 restaurants per 100,000 people, compared with a national average of 211.17.
In fact, the top two states in this category are among the bottom five states in terms of the total number of restaurants statewide, while the other three states rank low in that category as well (Alabama, 40th; West Virginia, 44th; Virginia, 37th).
This indicates that, while these states may not have a high demand for restaurants in general, they have a disproportionately high demand for fast food in particular—qualifying them as some of the fast food capitals of the country.
Number of Fast Food Restaurants per 100,000 People
We also wanted to take into account the number of fast food restaurants in relation to the population of each state, so we used Census Bureau data to compare the total number of fast food restaurants in each state with each state’s population. These were the results.
Top Five States with the Most Fast Food Restaurants per 100,000 People
| State | Number of Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Hawaii | 95.11 |
| New York | 90.87 |
| Maryland | 87.57 |
| Illinois | 84.32 |
| Ohio | 82.42 |
In addition to placing first and second on this list, Hawaii and New York are also the first and third in terms of the ratio of tourists to residents, according to Escoffier analysis of overseas tourist data from the US Department of Commerce. This suggests that their high rank could partially be explained by their booming tourist economies, with many fast food restaurants offering convenient dining options to travelers.
However, the rest of the top five is more of a mixed bag, with fifth-place Ohio ranking 40th on that same metric. So, once again, while these findings might be partially explained by other factors (like tourism), they also indicate that there are enough consumers in these states to support large numbers of fast food restaurants.
Spending on Fast Food Restaurants as a Percentage of Total Food Spending
Finally, we wanted to consider how much of their food budget the residents of each state are spending on fast food, so we used data from the USDA’s Economic Research Series (ERS), and obtained the following results.
Top Five States with the Highest Share of Spending on Fast Food Restaurants
| State | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Nevada | 21.79% |
| Hawaii | 21.66% |
| New York | 20.73% |
| Illinois | 20.49% |
| Massachusetts | 20.38% |
Perhaps not surprisingly, these top five states are the exact same states we identified in our study on the US states with the best food scene. So not only do these states appear to be big spenders when it comes to restaurants overall, they carry that habit over to fast food restaurants as well.
What could be behind this trend? Do these states just have more money to spend on restaurants in general—and on fast food in particular?
While there are data that show that fast food consumption rises with rising income, that doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case here. While New York and Massachusetts are in the top five for personal income, Nevada and Hawaii are actually right in the middle of the pack.
Our conclusion? This category shows the real dining habits of people in these states, irrespective of income or other factors.
Methodology and Notes
To obtain these findings, we first gathered data on the total number of restaurants in general and fast food restaurants in particular from the NRA1 and the Census Bureau,2 respectively; this enabled us to determine the proportion of fast food restaurants to total restaurants.
We then compared the number of fast food restaurants to state population data from the Census Bureau3 to determine the number of fast food restaurants per capita.
Finally, we determined fast food spending as a percentage of overall food spending by consulting data from the USDA’s ERS.4 To do so, we first obtained state-by-state data on spending at fast food restaurants as a share of overall food spending in each state by obtaining the national average spending at limited-service restaurants; according to data from the ERS which dates back to 1997, spending at limited-service restaurants has averaged about 34.1% of overall food-away-from-home spending. We then applied that percentage to state level ERS data to determine spending for each state.
We then normalized scores in each of these three categories, combined them for a weighted ranking, then normalized that weighted number to get our final ranking.
This analysis indicates that, even when compared against other factors that could affect fast food consumption—like income, tourism, and more—some states consistently rise to the top. While dining habits vary around the country, in some US states fast food is king.
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Sources
- (1) National Restaurant Association, State Statistics, Fact Sheets: Industry Size by State
- (2) United States Census Bureau, Economic Census, Core Statistics Selected Sectors
- (3) United States Census Bureau, Quick Facts
- (4) United States Department of Agriculture, National and State Food Expenditure Series
