Chick-fil-A is the third most profitable restaurant chain in the United States, trailing only McDonald’s and Starbucks. While that alone is impressive, what is even more eye-popping is that this franchise specializing in chicken sandwiches has far fewer locations than many other well-known fast-food chains. Subway, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Wendy’s all have far more locations than Chick-fil-A, yet Chick-fil-A easily outearns them all year after year. In fact, there are 17 fast-food chains that have more U.S. locations than Chick-fil-A, but Chick-fil-A is more profitable than all of them except the aforementioned McDonald’s and Starbucks. (Here’s the full list of the 25 biggest restaurant chains in America.)
Perhaps most impressive of all, though, is how individual Chick-fil-A locations thrive compared to all other fast-food chains. One freestanding Chick-fil-A location averages over $8 million in gross annual income, more than double the gross income of the average McDonald’s location. Even without these figures, Chick-fil-A fans can anecdotally attest to the popularity of the chain by the long lines at the drive-thru virtually any time of day.
How Far Are You From a Chicken Sandwich?
Americans clearly love their Chick-fil-A, but the franchise’s locations are not equally distributed throughout the United States. While chains such as Subway and McDonald’s have tens of thousands of locations across the country, Chick-fil-A has just over 3,000 U.S. restaurants. The franchise consistently opens new locations each year, but many Americans still live nowhere close to a Chick-fil-A restaurant and its iconic chicken sandwiches. For example, there are no Chick-fil-A stores at all in Alaska, Hawaii, or Vermont. Nine other states have ten or fewer locations where residents can get their chicken fix.
We want to help you satisfy your craving for these melt-in-your-mouth sandwiches (and let’s not forget the waffle fries and sweet tea). According to the Chick-fil-A website, here is how the franchise’s locations are distributed by state. Chick-fil-A was founded in Georgia, so you might expect that state to house the most Chick-fil-A stores. While the Peach State certainly has quite a lot of Chick-fil-A locations, it does have the most. The top Chick-fil-A state boasts nearly double the number of locations as the franchise’s home state of Georgia.
Let’s get into the numbers. Oh, and there’s no need to thank us for compiling this list. It’s our pleasure. (If you know, you know.)
48. (tie) Alaska
Chick-fil-A locations: 0
48. (tie) Hawaii
Chick-fil-A locations: 0
48. (tie) Vermont
Chick-fil-A locations: 0
45. (tie) Maine
Chick-fil-A locations: 2
45. (tie) Rhode Island
Chick-fil-A locations: 2
45. (tie) Wyoming
Chick-fil-A locations: 2
43. (tie) Montana
Chick-fil-A locations: 3
43. (tie) New Hampshire
Chick-fil-A locations: 3
41. (tie) North Dakota
Chick-fil-A locations: 4
41. (tie) South Dakota
Chick-fil-A locations: 4
39. (tie) Idaho
Chick-fil-A locations: 10
39. (tie) Oregon
Chick-fil-A locations: 10
38. Nebraska
Chick-fil-A locations: 11
37. Connecticut
Chick-fil-A locations: 14
34. (tie) Delaware
Chick-fil-A locations: 15
34. (tie) Iowa
Chick-fil-A locations: 15
34. (tie) New Mexico
Chick-fil-A locations: 15
32. (tie) Massachusetts
Chick-fil-A locations: 18
32. (tie) Nevada
Chick-fil-A locations: 18
31. Wisconsin
Chick-fil-A locations: 20
30. Washington State
Chick-fil-A locations: 21
28. (tie) Kansas
Chick-fil-A locations: 23
28. (tie) West Virginia
Chick-fil-A locations: 23
27. Minnesota
Chick-fil-A locations: 27
26. Michigan
Chick-fil-A locations: 28
25. Utah
Chick-fil-A locations: 33
24. Arkansas
Chick-fil-A locations: 36
23. Mississippi
Chick-fil-A locations: 42
22. Missouri
Chick-fil-A locations: 48
20. (tie) Kentucky
Chick-fil-A locations: 50
20. (tie) New York
Chick-fil-A locations: 50
19. Arizona
Chick-fil-A locations: 51
18. Oklahoma
Chick-fil-A locations: 53
17. Colorado
Chick-fil-A locations: 56
16. Indiana
Chick-fil-A locations: 57
15. Louisiana
Chick-fil-A locations: 58
14. New Jersey
Chick-fil-A locations: 61
13. Illinois
Chick-fil-A locations: 63
12. Ohio
Chick-fil-A locations: 81
11. Maryland
Chick-fil-A locations: 88
10. Alabama
Chick-fil-A locations: 90
8. (tie) Pennsylvania
Chick-fil-A locations: 103
8. (tie) Tennessee
Chick-fil-A locations: 103
7. South Carolina
Chick-fil-A locations: 104
6. Virginia
Chick-fil-A locations: 142
5. California
Chick-fil-A locations: 183
4. North Carolina
Chick-fil-A locations: 192
3. Florida
Chick-fil-A locations: 248
2. Georgia
Chick-fil-A locations: 260
1. Texas
Chick-fil-A locations: 493
Additional Locations
Along with these 47 U.S. states, Chick-fil-A does have additional locations with plans to expand even further.
Washington, D.C.
Chick-fil-A locations: 13
Ontario, Canada
Chick-fil-A locations: 11
Puerto Rico
Chick-fil-A locations: 5
Future International Locations
In a recent release, Chick-fil-A announced it is planning to open in the United Kingdom in early 2025, with a vision to expand to five locations within the first two years. The U.K. locations will mark the first permanent Chick-fil-A locations outside of North America.
The company also plans to expand deeper into Europe and Asia by 2026, along with five international locations by 2030. However, it did not specify where those locations would be built.
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