Home / Limited-service restaurants (fast food) / Massachusetts

Fast food in Massachusetts

How many fast food exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 10 Massachusetts 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): Below the U.S. rate — 90% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Massachusetts

Fast food

5,052

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

6.0

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

6.7

per 10,000 present

State index

90%

vs. U.S.

Residents

6,803,736

in covered counties

Workers

3,256,157

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 10 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts

City	County	Fast food	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Hyannis	Barnstable County	191–253	233,772	76,047	7.0	105–131%	Above average
Boston	Suffolk County	766–790	780,506	719,212	6.7	101–101%	Above average
Andover	Essex County	621–657	812,999	284,682	6.5	97–101%	Range spans bands
Taunton	Bristol County	425–455	582,221	200,378	6.2	93–96%	Below average
Canton	Norfolk County	532–552	720,686	332,697	6.0	90–92%	Below average
Waltham	Middlesex County	1,216–1,278	1,653,842	958,530	5.7	85–88%	Below average
Brockton	Plymouth County	351–391	530,039	179,501	5.7	85–88%	Below average
Westborough	Worcester County	572–660	865,923	309,231	5.6	83–93%	Below average
Northampton	Hampshire County	102–138	161,056	46,046	5.5	83–107%	Range spans bands
Holyoke	Hampden County	276–324	462,692	149,833	5.1	77–84%	Below average

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

105%

101%

97%

93%

90%

85%

85%

83%

Most competitors per capita

77%

83%

83%

85%

85%

90%

93%

97%

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.

← All Limited-service restaurants (fast food) markets nationwide · Methodology · Data sources

Check a ZIP or city · Search by radius · Answers · Data story · Methodology · Data sources · About · Privacy · Terms · Updates (RSS)

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.