Wendy’s is the world’s third-largest hamburger fast food chain, after Burger King and McDonald’s, with almost 6,000 outlets in North America. As well as burgers it’s known for the Frosty, a soft-serve ice cream treat, and it’s the only major fast food chain that has chili on the menu as a regular side dish. (These are the best burgers you can get at a fast food restaurant.)
24/7 Tempo has ranked the chain’s presence in all 50 states to identify the Wendy’s capitals of America. To determine the ranking, we 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 Wendy’s population per 100,000 residents, lowest to highest. Ties were broken using the total number of Wendy’s restaurants in the state.The results revealed that West Virginia is the No. 1 Wendy’s capital of America, with 3.9 outlets per 100,000 people. It ranks very high for almost all fast-food chains, in fact. It’s also one of the poorest states and scores badly when it comes to health outcomes. (It ranks No. 2, as an example, on the list of states where children are struggling with obesity.)
Click here to see the Wendy’s capitals of America
Behind West Virginia comes Wendy’s home state, Ohio, with 3.5 outlets. The company was founded in Columbus in 1969 and moved its headquarters to nearby Dublin in 2006. There are a total of 409 Wendy’s in Ohio.
Vermont is the state with the smallest number of Wendy’s, both in total numbers (there are four) and per capita (which works out to 0.6 outlets per 100,000 people). The state is famously inhospitable to large chains in general, preferring to encourage smaller businesses instead. Montpelier boasts that it’s the only state capital without a McDonald’s — and it doesn’t have a Wendy’s either.
50. Vermont
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 0.6
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 4 — the lowest
> Total population in 2019: 623,989 — 2nd lowest
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49. Hawaii
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 0.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 10 — 5th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,415,872 — 11th lowest
48. California
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 0.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 277 — 5th highest
> Total population in 2019: 39,512,223 — the highest
47. South Dakota
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 0.8
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 7 — 2nd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 884,659 — 5th lowest
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46. Wisconsin
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 0.9
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 52 — 19th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 5,822,434 — 20th highest
45. North Dakota
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.0
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 8 — 3rd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 762,062 — 4th lowest
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44. Oregon
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.0
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 42 — 16th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 4,217,737 — 24th lowest
43. Minnesota
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.0
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 56 — 21st lowest
> Total population in 2019: 5,639,632 — 22nd highest
42. Washington
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.0
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 76 — 25th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 7,614,893 — 13th highest
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41. New York
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.1
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 214 — 10th highest
> Total population in 2019: 19,453,561 — 4th highest
40. Alaska
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.2
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 9 — 4th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 731,545 — 3rd lowest
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39. Delaware
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.2
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 12 — 6th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 973,764 — 6th lowest
38. Maine
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.2
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 16 — 9th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,344,212 — 9th lowest
37. Oklahoma
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.2
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 47 — 18th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,956,971 — 23rd lowest
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36. Nebraska
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.3
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 25 — 12th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,934,408 — 14th lowest
35. Iowa
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.3
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 41 — 14th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,155,070 — 20th lowest
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34. Nevada
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.4
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 43 — 17th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,080,156 — 19th lowest
33. Massachusetts
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.4
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 96 — 23rd highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,892,503 — 15th highest
32. Arizona
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.4
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 102 — 19th highest
> Total population in 2019: 7,278,717 — 14th highest
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31. Montana
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 16 — 8th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,068,778 — 8th lowest
30. Connecticut
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 53 — 20th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,565,287 — 22nd lowest
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29. Texas
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 435 — 2nd highest
> Total population in 2019: 28,995,881 — 2nd highest
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28. Maryland
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.6
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 97 — 22nd highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,045,680 — 19th highest
27. Missouri
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.6
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 98 — 20th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,137,428 — 18th highest
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26. New Jersey
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.6
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 142 — 15th highest
> Total population in 2019: 8,882,190 — 11th highest
25. Illinois
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.6
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 203 — 11th highest
> Total population in 2019: 12,671,821 — 6th highest
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24. Rhode Island
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 18 — 10th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,059,361 — 7th lowest
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23. New Hampshire
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 23 — 11th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,359,711 — 10th lowest
22. Idaho
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 1.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 30 — 13th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,787,065 — 12th lowest
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21. New Mexico
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.0
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 42 — 15th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,096,829 — 15th lowest
20. Alabama
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.0
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 98 — 21st highest
> Total population in 2019: 4,903,185 — 24th highest
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19. Pennsylvania
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.0
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 256 — 7th highest
> Total population in 2019: 12,801,989 — 5th highest
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18. Arkansas
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.1
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 63 — 22nd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,017,804 — 18th lowest
17. Colorado
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.3
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 132 — 16th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,758,736 — 21st highest
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16. Wyoming
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.4
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 14 — 7th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 578,759 — the lowest
15. Kansas
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.4
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 70 — 24th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,913,314 — 16th lowest
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14. Michigan
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.4
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 240 — 8th highest
> Total population in 2019: 9,986,857 — 10th highest
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13. South Carolina
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 129 — 17th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,148,714 — 23rd highest
12. Tennessee
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 171 — 13th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,829,174 — 16th highest
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11. North Carolina
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 262 — 6th highest
> Total population in 2019: 10,488,084 — 9th highest
10. Florida
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 537 — the highest
> Total population in 2019: 21,477,737 — 3rd highest
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9. Utah
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.6
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 83 — 25th highest
> Total population in 2019: 3,205,958 — 21st lowest
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8. Virginia
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.6
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 222 — 9th highest
> Total population in 2019: 8,535,519 — 12th highest
7. Louisiana
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 126 — 18th highest
> Total population in 2019: 4,648,794 — 25th highest
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6. Indiana
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 182 — 12th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,732,219 — 17th highest
5. Georgia
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 2.7
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 287 — 4th highest
> Total population in 2019: 10,617,423 — 8th highest
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4. Mississippi
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 3.2
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 95 — 24th highest
> Total population in 2019: 2,976,149 — 17th lowest
3. Kentucky
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 3.2
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 143 — 14th highest
> Total population in 2019: 4,467,673 — 25th lowest
2. Ohio
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 3.5
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 409 — 3rd highest
> Total population in 2019: 11,689,100 — 7th highest
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1. West Virginia
> All Wendy’s restaurants per 100K people: 3.9
> Total Wendy’s restaurants: 70 — 23rd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,792,147 — 13th lowest
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