From burgers and fries and fried chicken sandwiches to tacos, pizza, donuts and everything in between, Americans love their fast-food. But which states have the most fast-food restaurants?
A new analysis has revealed the fast-food capitals of the U.S.
The research, conducted by price-monitoring website Pricelisto, analyzed the number of popular fast-food restaurants in each state and compared this against the state population to see which ones have the most per 100,000 residents.
The research included 22 fast-food franchises, including: Arby's, Chick-fill-a, Chipotle, Dairy Queen, Dominos, In-n-out, KFC, Dunkin Doughnuts, Five Guys, Wendy's, White Castle, Whataburger, Sonic Drive-In, Subway, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Popeyes, Burger King and Raising Canes.
The state crowned the top fast-food capital of America is West Virginia, with almost 50 of the most popular fast-food chains for every 100,000 residents. The state is home to 868 fast-food restaurants examined in the study. The most common franchises are Subway, McDonald's and Wendy's with 164, 104 and 72 restaurants, respectively.
Kentucky takes second place. For every 100,000 people in the state, there are 47.21 fast food restaurants. The most common chain in the state is Subway with 362 franchises, which amounts to almost eight restaurants per 100,000 residents.
In close third is Kansas, with 47.1 fast-food restaurants for every 100,000 residents. Pizza Hut is Kansas's second most common chain, with 165 restaurants. The number of Pizza Huts is up by 120% compared to rivals Domino's and Papa Johns, which have a combined total of just 75 locations in this state.
Mississippi is fourth, with 46.71 fast-food franchises per 100,000 people. Sonic Drive-In, Wendy's, and Burger King are among the state's most common fast-food chains, with a combined total of 307 restaurants.
Rounding out the top five is Ohio, where there are 46.43 fast-food establishments per 100,000 residents. The state has the ninth highest number of Starbucks in the US, with 519 franchises.
On the other hand, Vermont has the lowest number of fast-food restaurants per 100,000 people, at 27.65. That's followed by New York with 29.47, Idaho with 29.78, California with 30.05 and Alaska with 30.82.
Full Rankings: Fast-Food Capitals of America
Included is the number of restaurants per 100,000 people
1. West Virginia -- 49.04
2. Kentucky -- 47.21
3. Kansas -- 47.1
4. Mississippi -- 46.71
5. Ohio -- 46.43
6. Indiana -- 46.37
7. Arkansas -- 46.19
8. Louisiana -- 45.41
9. Tennessee -- 44.72
10. Wyoming -- 44.34
11. Alabama -- 43.18
12. Illinois -- 42.66
13. Virginia -- 42.62
14. Oklahoma -- 42.38
15. Missouri -- 42.27
16. New Mexico -- 42.05
17. New Hampshire -- 41.44
18. Georgia -- 41.24
19. Nebraska -- 40.74
20. Connecticut -- 40.58
21. Colorado -- 40.32
22. South Carolina -- 39.86
23. Texas -- 39.50
24. Maryland -- 39.48
25. North Carolina -- 39.08
26. Nevada -- 38.95
27. Rhode Island -- 38.69
28. Maine -- 38.26
29. South Dakota -- 37.96
30. Arizona -- 37.71
31. Massachusetts -- 37.35
32. Michigan -- 36.25
33. Florida -- 35.93
34. Iowa -- 35.55
35. North Dakota -- 35.08
36. Wisconsin -- 35
37. Delaware -- 34.98
38. Oregon -- 34.35
39. (tie) Montana/Minnesota -- 34.16
40. Hawaii -- 34.07
41. Pennsylvania -- 33.74
42. Washington -- 33.09
43. Utah -- 32.77
44. New Jersey -- 31.45
45. Alaska -- 30.82
46. California -- 30.05
47. Idaho -- 29.78
48. New York -- 29.47
49. Vermont -- 27.65