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Fast food in Illinois

How many fast food exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 16 Illinois counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Fast food · Quick-service restaurants · Takeout & delivery counters · Pizza delivery · Sandwich & burger chains. Counted together because official statistics use one 722513 code.

State verdict (covered counties): In line with the U.S. rate — 106% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Illinois

Fast food

8,919

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

7.0

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

6.7

per 10,000 present

State index

106%

vs. U.S.

Residents

10,329,940

in covered counties

Workers

4,617,467

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 16 Illinois counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing fast food and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in Illinois

City	County	Fast food	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Champaign	Champaign County	197–243	208,555	71,922	8.1	121–145%	Above average
Springfield	Sangamon County	185–231	194,839	70,812	8.0	120–140%	Above average
Downers Grove	DuPage County	928–944	961,096	599,180	7.4	110%	Above average
Edwardsville	Madison County	232–262	268,375	94,295	7.4	110–124%	Above average
Chicago	Cook County	4,616–4,668	5,132,257	2,445,383	7.2	109%	Above average
Rockford	Winnebago County	242–260	284,853	110,619	7.1	107–109%	Above average
Oswego	Kendall County	94–102	121,968	28,643	6.9	103–112%	Above average
O Fallon	St. Clair County	195–225	247,743	71,801	6.9	103–116%	Above average
Bolingbrook	Will County	553–557	697,966	252,149	6.7	101%	Above average
Moline	Rock Island County	117–147	144,245	64,178	6.6	99–118%	Range spans bands
Normal	McLean County	134–182	173,337	61,936	6.6	98–129%	Range spans bands
Crystal Lake	McHenry County	244–254	328,030	92,834	6.5	98–101%	Range spans bands
North Chicago	Lake County	600–610	747,565	351,156	6.5	97–98%	Below average
East Peoria	Tazewell County	100–124	132,535	43,220	6.5	97–119%	Range spans bands
Peoria	Peoria County	140–190	179,934	81,431	6.3	95–117%	Range spans bands
Elgin	Kane County	342–358	506,642	177,908	5.7	86–89%	Below average

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

121%

120%

110%

110%

109%

107%

103%

103%

Most competitors per capita

86%

95%

97%

97%

98%

98%

99%

101%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few fast food may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.