The Most Popular Fast Food Restaurant Chains In America
There are approximately 143,000 chain restaurants in America, according to IBIS World, but some are more successful than others. Some of these chains are exclusively company-owned, while others rely on franchises to make their millions.
These were the most popular fast food restaurant chains in America in 2024, according to data collected by QSR, ranked by national sales. See which chains came out on top.
Papa John's
It's hard to believe that Papa John's pizza chain started out of a closet! "Papa" John Schnatter decided to sell pizza to the customers of his father's tavern in Jefferson, Indiana. He converted one of the closets in the tavern into a pizza kitchen and sold his '71 Camaro to afford the equipment.
That was in 1984 – today, the pizza chain has over 3,200 locations all across the country. Papa John's is also the creator of dipping sauce specifically for pizza crust.
Jack In The Box
Jack in the Box is a quick stop to pick up all of the American fast-food favorites, including chicken tenders, french fries, and cheeseburgers. The menu even includes tacos and egg rolls, too.
Founded in San Diego in 1951, Jack in the Box was the first major restaurant chain to focus on drive-thru business and innovated the way the two-way intercom was used for customers to place orders.
Arby's
Arby's known for their slogan, "We have the meats," was founded in 1964. Surprisingly, the company is partially owned by Wendy's!
Aside from their popular deli-style sandwiches, Arby's menu features gyros and some restaurant locations even serve breakfast. Although Arby's doesn't spend as much money on marketing as some of its competitors, their loyal customers keep coming back for more.
Dairy Queen
Burgers and soft-serve ice cream are two favorite American foods and you can always find them at Dairy Queen. The ice cream and burger joint quickly became a popular hangout for teens and kids, especially in small towns in the Midwestern and Southern states.
Dairy Queen opened its first location in Joliet, Illinois in 1940. Since its beginnings, the restaurant chain has operated as a franchise system which helped them to quickly grow to 2,600 locations by 1955. There are now over 4,000 locations in the U.S.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Of course a list of the most popular restaurant chains in America wouldn't be complete without KFC! By sales numbers, Kentucky Fried Chicken is the second-largest restaurant chain in the world, and one of the most popular in America.
Colonel Sanders' seasoning recipe is a trade secret, a combination of 11 herbs and spices that chicken lovers can't get enough of. After opening 600 locations by 1963, KFC proved that Americans want their chain restaurants to specialize in something other than burgers!
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
In August 2019, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen added a chicken sandwich to their menu that set off a craze. Customers waited in line for more than 30 minutes to try it, and by the end of the month, they were sold out of the popular menu item.
But Popeyes was favored by customers long before they announced the chicken sandwich. It has more than 3,000 restaurant locations in more than 40 states, making it the second-largest chicken restaurant chain in America.
Sonic Drive-In
If you thought the other restaurant chains on this list had a lot of locations, that's nothing compared to Sonic! The American drive-in fast-food chain has over 3,500 locations across 46 states.
Recognized for its carhop servers on skates, customers head to Sonic Drive-In for its original drinks and milkshakes including Cherry Limeade, Ocean Water, and Strawberry Cheesecake Blast. Other popular menu items include mozzarella sticks, the classic cheeseburger, and jumbo popcorn chicken.
Pizza Hut
Customers' eating habits have changed since Pizza Hut first opened in 1958. Instead of sitting down in the restaurant to eat their pizza, customers prefer to enjoy their pizza at home. Regardless of where customers are eating their slices, Pizza Hut remains the world's largest pizza chain.
Panda Express
With more than 2,400 locations, Panda Express is the largest chain restaurant in America that specializes in Asian food. Once recognized as the quick and easy Chinese restaurant you'd find in the food court, Panda Express proved itself to be more than just food you eat at the mall.
Panera Bread
Customers are drawn to Panera's promise of fresh ingredients with transparent nutrition information. They also offer free Wi-Fi hotspots to customers, and were once the largest provider of free Wi-Fi in the United States! From 1997 until 2017, when it was a public company, Panera had the best-performing stock of any restaurant.
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza was ranked fourth in the world for quickest service and used to have a 30-minute guarantee for customers to receive their order, until too many of its drivers became a road hazard by speeding to make it on time. Regardless, the company is still known for its delicious and convenient pizza.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
After McDonald's became a major investor of Chipotle Mexican Grill in 1998, the fast-casual chain took off. It grew from 16 restaurants to 500 in just 7 years. Today there are more than 3,400 Chipotle locations across the US.
Subway
Subway has more locations than any other restaurant chain on the planet, boasting over 37,000 locations to order a sub sandwich. The sandwich chain is known for its "Eat fresh" slogan and its delicious footlong subs with a wide variety of toppings.
Burger King
Near the top of the list of the most popular restaurant chains in America is Burger King. Founded in 1953, the burger chain has more than 6,000 locations in the U.S. Inventor of the Whopper, Burger King primarily targets the male demographic with their marketing campaigns and sizable portions.
Dunkin'
Dunkin' remains one of the most successful coffee chains in the country, with the slogan "America runs on Dunkin'". Founded in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1950, the chain now has over 9,500 locations across the U.S.
Wendy's
Wendy's got started in Columbus, Ohio in 1969. The burger joint became the third-largest hamburger fast-food chain in 2018 and remains one of the most popular chain restaurants in America.
Famous for its signature square hamburgers, sea salt fries, and Frosty soft serve, not much has changed since Wendy's beginnings, but that's just fine with its customers!
Taco Bell
Taco Bell has a loyal customer following who are always excited about the new menu options the Mexican fast food chain introduces.
While the chain experienced some challenges in the 2010s, fighting lawsuits and correcting business practices, Taco Bell came back with a bang.
Chick-Fil-A
With chicken sandwiches booming in popularity in the U.S., Chick-Fil-A became one of the top three most popular chain restaurants. The company has made several adjustments over the years that's helped its success. The chain used to be called "Dwarf Grill" and primarily served breakfast.
Starbucks
Not only is Starbucks one of the top chains in the country, but it also made the list of Fortune 500 companies, placing 114th and 288th on the Forbes Global 2000. The restaurant chain, predominantly known for its espresso-based beverages, now has over 16,300 locations in the U.S. alone.
McDonald's
With over 13,400 McDonald's locations in the U.S., there is probably one close to you. The country's most beloved burger joint is known for its signature golden arches as well as its best-selling Big Macs and French fries.