This statistic shows the results of a survey conducted by Cint on the average number of times fast food from quick service restaurants was consumed per week in the United States between 2016 and 2018. In 2018, 29.42 percent of respondents in the United States stated they eat fast food less than once per week.

The United States is known as the home of fast food. But in this competitive market, what kind of fast food do consumers order the most? During a 2023 survey, pizza emerged as the most frequently ordered fast food in the U.S., with 29 percent of respondents indicating it as their top choice. Comparatively, only five percent of participants reported TexMex as their most ordered type of fast food. How often do U.S. consumers order pizza? With more than 80 thousand pizza restaurants in the U.S. consumers are spoiled for choice. During a 2023 survey, 28 percent of U.S. consumers said that they ordered fast food pizza once a week, whilst 10 percent reported ordering pizza more than once a week. Meanwhile, the highest share of respondents, 31 percent, said they ordered pizza once a month and once every couple of weeks, respectively. What is the leading quick service restaurant in the U.S.? The market size of the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry in the United States reached 382 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Within this thriving market, McDonald's emerged as the leader, generating the highest systemwide sales of any QSR chain. Following closely behind, Starbucks secured second place with just under half of McDonald's total sales. Meanwhile, Chick-fil-A claimed the third spot in the ranking.

In 2023, Hispanic Americans were more likely to eat at fast food restaurants than their non-Hispanic counterparts. Almost 60 percent of U.S. Hispanics surveyed indicated eating weekly or monthly at a quick service restaurant, while only roughly half of non-Hispanic respondents did.

This statistic shows the frequency with which consumers ate fast food in the United States as of August 2014. During the survey, 21 percent of respondents said that they ate fast food about once per week.

This statistic shows the number of employees per establishment in the United States fast food restaurant industry from 2004 to 2018. In 2018, it was forecasted that there would 15.28 fast food restaurant employees per establishment.

Fast food employees - additional information

The number of fast food employees per establishment in the United States has decreased year-on-year, and the number was set to dwindle further until 2018. The total number of employees in the U.S. fast food industry was forecasted to rise to approximately 3.78 million in 2018. The industry’s revenue per employee was also forecasted to reach over 55 thousand U.S. dollars in 2018.

In 2017, the U.S. fast food industry is expected to spend more than 50 billion U.S. dollars on employee wages. That year, the average wage for a fast food worker is expected to be roughly 13.36 thousand dollars. Wages had declined in previous years, but they were forecasted to increase steadily from 2015 to 2018.

In 2017, industry revenue is expected to rise above 200 billion U.S. dollars. By far the largest fast food brand was McDonald’s with a market share of 17 percent. Yum! Brands followed with 10.8 percent. The leading five brands accounted for 41.1 percent of the entire U.S. fast food industry in 2015.

This statistic shows the fast food market share in the United States in 2015. Yum! Brands Inc. accounted for 10.8 percent of the U.S. fast food industry.

U.S. fast food industry - additional information

McDonald’s held, by far, the largest market share of the fast food industry in the United States in 2015. Its closest competitor was Yum! Brands - owner of popular chains Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and WingStreet. The leading five brands account for over 40 percent of the entire U.S. fast food industry, which, in 2014, generated over 198.9 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. This revenue was forecasted to rise above 223 billion dollars in 2020.

As well as leading the U.S. fast food industry, McDonald’s was also the most valuable fast food brand worldwide in 2016. With a brand value of more than 88 billion U.S. dollars, the company was worth more than double its closest competitor, Starbucks. McDonald’s worldwide revenue reached 24.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, with over 8.25 billion of this being accumulated in the U.S.

Fast food is clearly popular with U.S. consumers. In a November 2016 survey, 44 percent of Americans admitted to eating in quick service restaurants at least once a week. The popularity of fast food is perhaps unsurprising, considering that children aged between two and 11 years watch hundreds of fast food ads annually. Once again, McDonald’s topped the list, with two- to five-year-olds watching an average of 207.7 of McDonald’s ads, and six- to 11-year-olds watching 253.6 ads that year.

In 2022, there were approximately 198 thousand quick service restaurants in the United States, up from approximately 194 thousand the previous year. The number of quick service restaurants in the U.S. increased by nearly 10 thousand since 2011.

The market size of the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry in the United States reached 387.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, up from the previous year's total of 382 billion U.S. dollars. QSRs are sometimes referred to as limited service restaurants (LSRs), but more commonly known as fast food restaurants.

In 2023, the value of the quick-service restaurant market in Latin America was estimated at around 58 billion U.S. dollars. By 2030, this market was expected to grow by 44.8 percent.

The quick service restaurant (QSR) industry in the United States generated a revenue of 178.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2009. Major players in the QSR industry include household names such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Yum Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell). Out of the leading QSR chains, McDonald's contributed the most to the overall revenue of the U.S. fast food industry, with Starbucks following in a not-so-close second place.

In the first quarter of 2023, consumers in the United States were surveyed on which fast food categories they ordered from the most. Across all age groups, pizza was the fast food that the highest percentage of respondents said they ordered the most. Meanwhile, a higher percentage of 18 to 34 year olds said that they ordered coffee and snacks the most, with 17 percent saying so, compared to 11 percent of 35 to 54 year olds and eight percent of those who were over 55.

Between October and November of 2020, fast food consumers primarily from the United States were asked about the reasons they ate fast food. Approximately 71.8 percent of those surveyed stated convenience as the leading reason they ate fast food. Meanwhile, the second highest percentage of respondents, 37.6 percent, said it was because it tasted good.

This statistic shows the products and services segmentation in the United States fast food industry in 2013. Drive-thru limited-service restaurants made up 34.4 percent of the U.S. fast food industry in 2013.

U.S. fast food restaurant industry - additional information

The largest share of the fast food industry in the United States in 2013 was made up of on-premises limited-service restaurants. Drive-thrus and take-out establishments also constituted a large share at 34.4 percent and 18.1 percent respectively. In 2013, there were 232,611 fast food establishments in the U.S. This figure was forecasted to rise by more than 14,500 by 2018, potentially creating 124,367 new jobs in the industry.

In 2013, the annual revenue of the U.S. fast food restaurant industry reached 191.03 billion U.S. dollars. Only 3.3 percent of that figure was retained by the industry as profit. Almost a quarter of the industry’s revenue was spent on wages with the average fast food employee earning an annual salary of around 12,800 U.S. dollars. The already-low salaries of fast food workers decreased year over year from 2010 to 2013, sparking strikes and protests over low wages, such as those seen throughout 2013 and 2014. Despite the tensions, U.S. consumers were not deterred.

In November 2013, 82.6 percent of U.S. consumers admitted to visiting quick service restaurants at least once a week, with almost half visiting for lunch and just under a quarter visiting for their evening meal. Young consumers supported this trend too – 43 percent of U.S. teenagers prefer to eat at quick service restaurants.

In the first quarter of 2023, over half of respondents in the United States said that they typically ordered fast food for dinner. Comparatively, only eight percent of respondents stated that they ordered fast food as a late night snack.

The quick service restaurant sector (QSR) in the United States has seen a near year-over-year growth since 2004, with its peak consumer spending exceeding 358.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Consumer spending in this sector saw a notable decline in 2020, however, as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Fast food industry in the U.S. - additional information Quick service restaurants (QSRs) are fast food restaurants, set apart from full service or table restaurants by their limited menus, minimal table service and, as their name implies, fast service. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) carried out in 2024, the quick service restaurant chain in the United States with the highest ACSI score was Chick-fil-A. With a score of 83 out of 100. McDonald’s scored the lowest with a score of 71. Is McDonald's the largest QSR chain? Despite McDonald's low score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, McDonald’s was the largest fast food company worldwide in terms of brand value in 2022. That year, the company generated a global brand value of almost 196.5 billion U.S. dollars. McDonald's closest competitor in terms of brand value was Starbucks, with 61.7 billion U.S. dollars. KFC followed with 22.2 billion U.S. dollars.

This statistic shows the restaurant industry food and drink sales in the United States from 1970 to 2017. In 2016, food and drink sales of the U.S. restaurant industry amounted to approximately 766 billion U.S. dollars.

More statistics and facts on fast food, the U.S. restaurant industry and the pizza (delivery) market.

U.S. restaurant industry - additional information

In 2016, food and drink sales in the United States restaurant industry amounted to 766 billion U.S. dollars, up from 798.7 billion U.S. dollars in the previous year. Restaurants in the United States have created a booming industry that employed more than 14 million people nationwide in 2015.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of food and drink sales in the U.S. restaurant industry take place in commercial restaurants. In 2016, full-service restaurant sales amounted to 254 billion U.S. dollars and limited-service sales were 222 U.S. dollars. The second largest contributor in 2015 was retail, vending, recreation and mobile vendors with sales of 70.82 billion U.S. dollars. The smallest proportion came from came from bars and taverns.

As of December 2016, things were still looking up for the U.S. restaurant industry: the monthly Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey, conducted by the National Restaurant Association, recorded a performance index score of 100.5 – any score over 100 indicates a period of expansion. The lowest performance index score between 2011 and 2017, 99.4, was recorded in August 2011. In November 2016, 49 percent of U.S. consumers reported that cheaper restaurants would make them dine out more often.

The number of employees in the quick service restaurant sector in the United States amounted to 4.64 million in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of businesses in this sector was forecast to reach 197.16 thousand.

This statistic shows the most popular global fast food chains in the United States as of August 2014. During the survey, 12 percent of respondents selected Chick-Fil-A, making it the most popular fast food chain in the U.S.

In a 2013 market breakdown of fast food brands in the United States, McDonalds ranked first with a market share of 21.7 percent.

Monthly quick service restaurant (QSR) sales in the United States have seen growth since the country emerged from the coronavirus pandemic. When it comes to monthly trends, the summer months and December were typically the highest performing months in terms of U.S. fast food sales. In 2023, the month with the highest QSR sales in the U.S. was July, reaching around 43.4 billion U.S. dollars.

This statistic shows the global fast food chains with the best healthy food according to consumers in the United States as of August 2014. During the survey, 19 percent of respondents selected Subway, making it the fast food chain with the best healthy food in the U.S.
In a 2013 market breakdown of fast food brands in the United States, Doctor's Associates (Subway's parent company) ranked third with a market share of 6.7 percent.