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Fast food in North Carolina

How many fast food exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 23 North Carolina 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 — 101% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in North Carolina

Fast food

5,929

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

6.7

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

6.7

per 10,000 present

State index

101%

vs. U.S.

Residents

7,284,936

in covered counties

Workers

3,028,827

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 23 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

City	County	Fast food	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Fayetteville	Cumberland County	339–353	348,651	97,067	8.5	128–132%	Above average
Jacksonville	Onslow County	187–191	204,246	41,476	8.3	125%	Above average
Wilmington	New Hanover County	233–243	237,060	118,886	7.9	118–119%	Above average
Asheville	Buncombe County	259–285	269,596	125,376	7.8	117–121%	Above average
Greenville	Pitt County	163–185	180,210	62,893	7.7	115–125%	Above average
Leland	Brunswick County	119–127	151,179	32,781	7.1	106–112%	Above average
Gastonia	Gaston County	194–206	238,761	70,983	7.1	106–110%	Above average
Greensboro	Guilford County	500–542	577,982	264,336	7.0	106–109%	Above average
Durham	Durham County	283–299	327,804	174,233	6.7	101–102%	Above average
Burlington	Alamance County	146–158	187,008	63,483	6.7	100–106%	Above average
Concord	Cabarrus County	182–188	236,047	74,847	6.7	100–101%	Range spans bands
Morrisville	Wake County	1,015–1,059	1,254,117	563,740	6.6	99–100%	Below average
Winston Salem	Forsyth County	333–361	416,830	178,036	6.6	99–101%	Range spans bands
Hickory	Catawba County	141–147	172,263	85,017	6.6	98–101%	Range spans bands
Dunn	Harnett County	82–90	114,473	23,154	6.5	98–105%	Range spans bands
Charlotte	Mecklenburg County	997–1,075	1,173,019	704,489	6.5	97%	Below average
Mooresville	Iredell County	150–166	192,680	79,784	6.4	97–101%	Range spans bands
Chapel Hill	Orange County	108–116	159,674	52,230	5.8	87–90%	Below average
Thomasville	Davidson County	98–106	142,181	36,165	5.7	86–90%	Below average
Clayton	Johnston County	118–126	189,124	42,187	5.6	84–87%	Below average
Asheboro	Randolph County	74–88	127,973	30,351	5.2	77–88%	Below average
Salisbury	Rowan County	76–94	133,355	45,889	4.9	73–88%	Below average
Monroe	Union County	132–136	250,703	61,424	4.7	70–71%	Below average

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

128%

125%

118%

117%

115%

106%

106%

106%

Most competitors per capita

70%

73%

77%

84%

86%

87%

97%

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.

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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.