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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