BizGapMap

Home / Limited-service restaurants (fast food) / Nevada / Washoe County, NV

Washoe County, NV — Fast food Saturation

How many fast food exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 37 ZIP codes analyzed.

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

Measured density: Above average — 1.04× the U.S. rate (between 1.04× and 1.07× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 20 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 7 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

In line with the U.S. rate   Washoe County fast food — 104–107% of the U.S. rate

419 fast food are counted in Washoe County — 6.9 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 104% of the U.S. rate of 6.7.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 25% between 2015 and 2023 (331 → 413). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 89502 (Reno), 89503 (Reno), 89511 (Reno) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 89436 (Sparks), 89433 (Sun Valley), 89506 (Reno).

BLS QCEW puts the latest county-wide count (2026 Q1) at 426 establishments, the freshest available signal.

Measured density: Washoe County sits at 104% of the U.S. rate for fast food. 7 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 104% and 107% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 89502 and 89503; the lowest measured density is in 89436 and 89433.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing fast food and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Fast food
419–459
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (20 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
6.9
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
6.7
per 10,000 present
County index
1.04×
vs. U.S.
Latest quarter (QCEW)
426
2026 Q1 — county total
Residents
499,640
24 ZIPs with data
Workers
209,486
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
507,280
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+4.0%
+19,555 people
Net migration 2024
+6,914
international +4,716, domestic +2,198
Jobs located here
238,059
LODES 2022, +5.6% since 2019

Washoe County had an estimated 507,280 residents on July 1, 2024 — 4.0% more than in 2020 (+19,555). In the latest year it gained 7,121 people: births minus deaths +181, international migration +4,716, domestic migration +2,198. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

238,059 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+5.6% since 2019), and 243,193 employed residents lived there (+5.8% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
89521 Reno
+25.4%
89511 Reno
+17.1%
89436 Sparks
+13.0%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change

No ZIP had a statistically significant decrease.

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses (no paid employees)

Nonemployer businesses
74
no paid employees (2024)
Receipts
$3.4M
published gross receipts
Receipts per business
$45K
gross, not profit

Census Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees — a separate universe from the employer establishments counted above; a business is in one or the other, never both. They are not storefronts by definition: many are home-based, mobile, or part-time.

We show them beside the density index, not inside it. In categories such as nail and beauty salons, child care, and pet care, one-person businesses can outnumber employer establishments, so the employer-only count understates how many businesses exist. That is not evidence of higher demand.

Receipts are gross revenue reported for these businesses — not profit, and not the size of the local market. Census publishes this only at county level, so it is not shown on the ZIP map. See methodology.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more fast food in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — up 25% since 2015

Number of fast food in Washoe County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

331
2015
376
2018
364
2020
359
2021
397
2022
413
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
89502 Reno
208%
89503 Reno
148%
89511 Reno
132%
89431 Sparks
123%
89434 Sparks
101%
89509 Reno
89%
89512 Reno
86%
89523 Reno
82%
89441 Sparks
76%
89521 Reno
73%
89451 Incline Village
67%
89506 Reno
62%
89433 Sun Valley
57%
89436 Sparks
57%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
89436 Sparks
57%
89433 Sun Valley
57%
89506 Reno
62%
89451 Incline Village
67%
89521 Reno
73%
89441 Sparks
76%
89523 Reno
82%
89512 Reno
86%
89509 Reno
89%
89434 Sparks
101%
89431 Sparks
123%
89511 Reno
132%
89503 Reno
148%
89502 Reno
208%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few fast food may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersFast foodIndex
89501Reno Employment hub 3,50711,774 22 351%

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = fast food per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersFast food Per 10kIndexStatus
89557Reno 546428 3 39.5 592% Very high density
89501Reno 3,50711,774 22 23.4 351% Very high density
89502Reno 46,69145,162 96 13.9 208% High density
89503Reno 30,2498,505 34 9.9 148% Above average
89439Verdi 2,5321,089 3 9.8 146% Above average
89511Reno 30,95624,356 38 8.8 132% Above average
89431Sparks 39,83327,140 44 8.2 123% Above average
89434Sparks 27,99021,018 26 6.8 101% Above average
89509Reno 35,63212,932 25 5.9 89% Below average
89512Reno 28,0306,906 18 5.7 86% Below average
89523Reno 37,1306,498 22 5.4 82% Below average
89441Sparks 14,4602,779 8 5.0 76% Below average
89521Reno 41,85914,909 24 4.9 73% Below average
89451Incline Village 9,2853,638 5 4.5 67% Below average
89506Reno 47,04612,123 22 4.1 62% Below average
89433Sun Valley 23,0161,084 9 3.8 57% Below average
89436Sparks 49,5445,640 20 3.8 57% Below average
89402Crystal Bay 118182 0–2 — — Not published
89412Gerlach 13734 0–2 — — Not published
89432Sparks —232 0–2 — — Not published
89435Sparks —28 0–2 — — Not published
89442Wadsworth 80818 0–2 — — Not published
89450Incline Village 0466 0–2 — — Not published
89452Incline Village —19 0–2 — — Not published
89504Reno —73 0–2 — — Not published
89505Reno —24 0–2 — — Not published
89507Reno —179 0–2 — — Not published
89508Reno 14,858660 0–2 — — Not published
89510Reno 1,457470 0–2 — — Not published
89513Reno —81 0–2 — — Not published
89515Reno —117 0–2 — — Not published
89519Reno 9,1101,673 0–2 — — Not published
89520Reno —519 0–2 — — Not published
89533Reno —257 0–2 — — Not published
89570Reno —4 0–2 — — Not published
89595Reno —178 0–2 — — Not published
89704Washoe Valley 4,846468 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Reno

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Reno retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Reno retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Reno retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Washoe County and fast food

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 722513 — limited-service restaurants. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. BLS QCEW (quarterly) is newer than ZBP — 2026 Q1 shows 426 establishments county-wide for this industry. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (6.67 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

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.