Americans consume a lot of fast food. On any given day, more than a third do so. There are a number of reasons for this: it’s convenient, cheap, and readily available.
Subway — founded in Connecticut in 1965 as Pete’s Super Submarines, with its name later shortened to its present form — is one of the best-known fast-food chains in the United States. It was once the fastest-growing franchise and is now pretty much everywhere. (It ranks high among the most successful restaurant chains in America.)
What states have the most Subways in total and the most per capita? To answer that question, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data collected by NiceRx, a patient assistance program and medication access company, using numbers for total fast-food restaurants taken from the U.S. Census Bureau and tracking the nation’s ten most popular chains as determined by ScrapeHero.com. (Population figures are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.) We then ranked the states by their per capita Subway population, lowest to highest.
The list is clearly dominated by states in what is called “flyover country.” They’re mainly in the center of the country, they’re more rural, their inhabitants depend more on their cars to get around, and they may be poorer. The top three are South Dakota, Wyoming, and West Virginia, in that order.
Click here to see the Subway (restaurant) capitals of America
You have to go a long way down the list to find a state that has an actual subway, by the way — Illinois at No. 22, which boasts the Chicago Transit Authority.
It’s also worth noting that some of the states with the smallest populations have the most Subways. South Dakota has only 884,659 people and Wyoming has even fewer — 578,759. Other states with tiny populations, such as Alaska and Vermont, rank far higher than states with huge populations, such as California, Florida, New York, and Texas, which are all near the bottom. (Here’s how every state’s population has changed since 2010.)
50. New Jersey
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 2.2
> Total Subway restaurants: 195 — 17th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 8,882,190 — 11th lowest
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49. Delaware
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 2.5
> Total Subway restaurants: 24 — the lowest
> Total population in 2019: 973,764 — 6th highest
48. New York
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 4.5
> Total Subway restaurants: 875 — 6th highest
> Total population in 2019: 19,453,561 — 4th lowest
47. Massachusetts
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 4.7
> Total Subway restaurants: 324 — 25th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 6,892,503 — 15th lowest
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45. Arizona
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 5.6
> Total Subway restaurants: 408 — 20th highest
> Total population in 2019: 7,278,717 — 14th lowest
45. Pennsylvania
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 5.6
> Total Subway restaurants: 717 — 10th highest
> Total population in 2019: 12,801,989 — 5th lowest
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44. California
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 5.7
> Total Subway restaurants: 2,252 — the highest
> Total population in 2019: 39,512,223 — the lowest
43. Rhode Island
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 5.9
> Total Subway restaurants: 63 — 5th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,059,361 — 7th highest
42. Florida
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.0
> Total Subway restaurants: 1,289 — 3rd highest
> Total population in 2019: 21,477,737 — 3rd lowest
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40. Utah
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.1 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 196 — 18th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,205,958 — 21st highest
40. Nevada
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.1 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 188 — 16th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,080,156 — 19th highest
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39. New Hampshire
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.3
> Total Subway restaurants: 86 — 8th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,359,711 — 10th highest
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38. Oregon
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.4
> Total Subway restaurants: 270 — 21st lowest
> Total population in 2019: 4,217,737 — 24th highest
37. Colorado
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.7
> Total Subway restaurants: 386 — 22nd highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,758,736 — 21st lowest
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34. Washington
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.8 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 518 — 15th highest
> Total population in 2019: 7,614,893 — 13th lowest
34. Texas
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.8 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 1,972 — 2nd highest
> Total population in 2019: 28,995,881 — 2nd lowest
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34. Maryland
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.8 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 411 — 19th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,045,680 — 19th lowest
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33. Idaho
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 6.9
> Total Subway restaurants: 123 — 12th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,787,065 — 12th highest
31. Montana
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.0 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 75 — 7th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,068,778 — 8th highest
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31. Hawaii
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.0 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 99 — 10th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,415,872 — 11th highest
29. South Carolina
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.1 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 366 — 24th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,148,714 — 23rd lowest
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29. Georgia
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.1 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 754 — 9th highest
> Total population in 2019: 10,617,423 — 8th lowest
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26. Alaska
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.2 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 53 — 3rd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 731,545 — 3rd highest
26. Vermont
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.2 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 45 — 2nd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 623,989 — 2nd highest
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26. North Carolina
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.2 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 755 — 8th highest
> Total population in 2019: 10,488,084 — 9th lowest
25. Virginia
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.3
> Total Subway restaurants: 623 — 11th highest
> Total population in 2019: 8,535,519 — 12th lowest
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24. Minnesota
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.4
> Total Subway restaurants: 417 — 18th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,639,632 — 22nd lowest
22. New Mexico
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.8 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 164 — 13th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,096,829 — 15th highest
22. Illinois
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 7.8 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 988 — 5th highest
> Total population in 2019: 12,671,821 — 6th lowest
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19. Missouri
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.0 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 491 — 16th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,137,428 — 18th lowest
19. Michigan
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.0 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 799 — 7th highest
> Total population in 2019: 9,986,857 — 10th lowest
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19. Kansas
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.0 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 233 — 19th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,913,314 — 16th highest
18. Connecticut
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.1
> Total Subway restaurants: 289 — 24th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,565,287 — 22nd highest
16. Maine
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.2 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 110 — 11th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,344,212 — 9th highest
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16. Alabama
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.2 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 402 — 21st highest
> Total population in 2019: 4,903,185 — 24th lowest
14. Arkansas
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.4 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 253 — 20th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,017,804 — 18th highest
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14. Tennessee
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.4 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 574 — 13th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,829,174 — 16th lowest
13. Kentucky
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.5
> Total Subway restaurants: 380 — 23rd highest
> Total population in 2019: 4,467,673 — 25th highest
12. North Dakota
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.7
> Total Subway restaurants: 66 — 6th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 762,062 — 4th highest
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11. Oklahoma
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.8
> Total Subway restaurants: 348 — 25th highest
> Total population in 2019: 3,956,971 — 23rd highest
8. Iowa
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.9 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 281 — 22nd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,155,070 — 20th highest
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8. Indiana
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.9 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 599 — 12th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,732,219 — 17th lowest
8. Ohio
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 8.9 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 1,040 — 4th highest
> Total population in 2019: 11,689,100 — 7th lowest
7. Wisconsin
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 9.1
> Total Subway restaurants: 530 — 14th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,822,434 — 20th lowest
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6. Louisiana
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 9.3
> Total Subway restaurants: 432 — 17th highest
> Total population in 2019: 4,648,794 — 25th lowest
4. Nebraska
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 9.6 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 186 — 15th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,934,408 — 14th highest
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4. Mississippi
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 9.6 (tied)
> Total Subway restaurants: 286 — 23rd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,976,149 — 17th highest
3. West Virginia
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 9.7
> Total Subway restaurants: 174 — 14th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,792,147 — 13th highest
2. Wyoming
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 10.0
> Total Subway restaurants: 58 — 4th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 578,759 — the highest
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1. South Dakota
> All Subway restaurants per 100K people: 10.1
> Total Subway restaurants: 89 — 9th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 884,659 — 5th highest
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