Since the McDonald brothers invented fast food in 1940, the restaurant’s golden arches have beckoned patrons to its quick, affordable, and excellent meals.
McDonald’s remains America’s most popular fast food brand, with $46 billion in systemwide sales last year.
This graph is based on data from Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Magazine’s report on America’s top 50 fast food chains. The prominent brands are divided into six major categories based on their 2021 systemwide sales: Burger, Chicken, Snack, Pizza, Sandwich, and Global.
Please keep in mind that some of these values are estimations. An asterisk denotes unofficial figures in the graph.
The Most Popular Fast Food Restaurants
McDonald’s is without a doubt America’s favorite fast food establishment, if not the world’s. McDonald’s sales are nearly double those of the second-place restaurant, Starbucks, totalling $46 billion to the coffee shop’s $24 billion.
| Rank | Company | Systemwide 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 |
The majority of the top 20 restaurants are household names, such as Chick-fil-A in third place and Taco Bell in fourth. Some of these chains, though, will be unrecognizable depending on where you live in the United States. While Bojangles is popular in the Southeast, many people on the West Coast may have never heard of it.
Shake Shack (#45), White Castle (#50), and the Canadian-founded Tim Hortons (#47) are among the lower-ranking eateries.
Fast Food Industry Trends
The fast food business in the United States is predicted to produce $331 billion in sales by 2022, with many establishments profiting on patterns inspired in part by the epidemic.
With drive-thrus, quick service, and a business strategy that discourages sitting down to eat, fast food restaurants are already partially suited to pandemic circumstances.
Starbucks, for example, has stated that 90% of its new outlets would include drive-thrus. Digital sales and transactions that minimize touch, making fast food even faster and more convenient, are also on the rise. Over the previous five years, Starbucks’ mobile order service has risen 400%. According to the QSR research, the distribution aspect of their business would grow 30% year on year in 2021.
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 | PJ’s 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 are well-established fast food restaurants that are just expanding their sales, such as Cinnabon, while others are newer to the market.
America’s Favorite Fast Food Restaurant
We evaluated the total sales in each of the top 50 food categories using the ranking’s food categories to determine which foods are America’s favorites. Burgers are clearly the winner, with $92.2 billion in total sales. Here’s how it’s broken down:
| 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 |
Burger restaurant sales were more than quadruple those of the runner-up, Snacks. Nothing says “America” like a basic hamburger and fries.
