The following rankings are based on U.S. systemwide unit counts, including company-owned restaurants and franchised locations, for the latest full fiscal years ended closest to Dec. 2011.
Notes:
- The year 2011 reflects data for chain or company fiscal years ended closest to Dec. 2011.
- The year 2010 reflects data for chain or company fiscal years ended closest to Dec. 2010.
- The year 2009 reflects data for chain or company fiscal years ended closest to Dec. 2010.
Data is either reported by a chain or parent company, or estimated by NRN.
| Rank | Chain | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subway | 24,722 | 23,850 | 23,034 |
| 2 | McDonald's | 14,098 | 14,027 | 13,980 |
| 3 | Starbucks Coffee | 10,693 | 10,580 | 10,566 |
| 4 | Pizza Hut | 7,600 | 7,542 | 7,566 |
| 5 | Burger King | 7,212 | 7,253 | 7,249 |
| 6 | Dunkin' Donuts | 7,015 | 6,772 | 6,566 |
| 7 | 7-Eleven | 6,497 | 6,137 | 5,929 |
| 8 | Wendy's | 5,876 | 5,883 | 5,877 |
| 9 | Taco Bell | 5,670 | 5,634 | 5,604 |
| 10 | Domino's Pizza | 4,907 | 4,929 | 4,927 |
| 11 | KFC | 4,780 | 5,055 | 5,162 |
| 12 | Dairy Queen | 4,488 | 4,514 | 4,540 |
| 13 | Circle K | 3,824 | 3,802 | 3,846 |
| 14 | Sonic Drive-In | 3,561 | 3,572 | 3,544 |
| 15 | Little Caesars Pizza | 3,455 | 3,229 | 2,848 |
| 16 | Arby's | 3,437 | 3,523 | 3,596 |
| 17 | Papa John's Pizza | 3,001 | 2,891 | 2,800 |
| 18 | Baskin-Robbins | 2,457 | 2,547 | 2,597 |
| 19 | Holiday Inn | 2,350 | 2,325 | 2,375 |
| 20 | Quiznos Sub | 2,326 | 2,805 | 3,652 |
| 21 | Jack in the Box | 2,221 | 2,206 | 2,212 |
| 22 | Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar | 1,871 | 1,862 | 1,868 |
| 23 | Target Cafe (Target Stores) | 1,719 | 1,706 | 1,696 |
| 24 | Casey's General Stores | 1,699 | 1,637 | 1,531 |
| 25 | Hardee's | 1,695 | 1,692 | 1,703 |
| 26 | Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | 1,627 | 1,580 | 1,576 |
| 27 | Waffle House | 1,603 | 1,601 | 1,594 |
| 28 | Denny's | 1,593 | 1,571 | 1,474 |
| 29 | Chick-fil-A | 1,592 | 1,523 | 1,466 |
| 30 | IHOP | 1,514 | 1,476 | 1,433 |
| 31 | Panera Bread | 1,423 | 1,324 | 1,251 |
| 32 | Panda Express | 1,421 | 1,327 | 1,289 |
| 33 | Jimmy John's | 1,329 | 1,130 | 969 |
| 34 | Papa Murphy's Take 'N Bake Pizza | 1,283 | 1,241 | 1,171 |
| 34 | Chili's Grill & Bar | 1,283 | 1,299 | 1,293 |
| 36 | Chipotle Mexican Grill/Chipotle | 1,225 | 1,081 | 955 |
| 37 | Church's Chicken | 1,217 | 1,251 | 1,254 |
| 38 | Carl's Jr. | 1,116 | 1,097 | 1,088 |
| 39 | Long John Silver's | 935 | 964 | 989 |
| 40 | Five Guys Burgers and Fries | 918 | 736 | 548 |
| 41 | Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar | 813 | 732 | 652 |
| 42 | Olive Garden | 784 | 748 | 717 |
| 43 | Outback Steakhouse | 775 | 778 | 788 |
| 44 | Ruby Tuesday | 761 | 797 | 825 |
| 45 | Jamba Juice | 750 | 737 | 738 |
| 46 | Whataburger | 728 | 717 | 702 |
| 47 | Tim Hortons | 714 | 602 | 563 |
| 48 | Red Lobster | 675 | 670 | 666 |
| 49 | Einstein Bros. Bagels | 626 | 587 | 532 |
| 50 | Sbarro, The Italian Eatery | 611 | 681 | 713 |
| 51 | Cracker Barrel Old Country Store | 603 | 593 | 588 |
| 52 | Qdoba Mexican Grill | 583 | 525 | 510 |
| 53 | Wawa | 574 | 572 | 570 |
| 54 | CiCi's Pizza | 573 | 594 | 625 |
| 55 | Bob Evans Restaurants | 565 | 563 | 569 |
| 56 | T.G.I. Friday's | 555 | 568 | 592 |
| 57 | Zaxby's | 540 | 514 | 494 |
| 58 | Del Taco | 532 | 522 | 518 |
| 59 | Chuck E. Cheese's | 529 | 529 | 523 |
| 60 | Captain D's Seafood | 519 | 531 | 549 |
| 61 | Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits | 506 | 484 | 459 |
| 62 | Steak n Shake | 489 | 483 | 485 |
| 63 | Checkers | 485 | 498 | 501 |
| 64 | Golden Corral | 482 | 485 | 479 |
| 65 | Boston Market | 481 | 497 | 517 |
| 66 | Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Spirits | 445 | 431 | 420 |
| 67 | Culver's | 444 | 424 | 413 |
| 68 | Costco | 425 | 412 | 402 |
| 69 | White Castle | 416 | 415 | 418 |
| 70 | Perkins Restaurant and Bakery | 412 | 463 | 460 |
| 71 | Friendly's Ice Cream | 411 | 499 | 506 |
| 72 | Sheetz | 406 | 381 | 363 |
| 73 | El Pollo Loco | 394 | 412 | 415 |
| 74 | LongHorn Steakhouse | 385 | 354 | 331 |
| 75 | Hooters | 369 | 386 | 383 |
| 76 | Texas Roadhouse | 362 | 342 | 330 |
| 77 | Krystal | 359 | 366 | 385 |
| 78 | Marriott Hotels & Resorts | 322 | 326 | 326 |
| 79 | In-N-Out Burger | 266 | 251 | 239 |
| 80 | Hilton Hotels | 254 | 256 | 241 |
| 81 | Big Boy Restaurant & Bakery/Frisch's Big Boy | 249 | 259 | 254 |
| 82 | Jason's Deli | 235 | 221 | 215 |
| 83 | Krispy Kreme Doughnuts | 234 | 229 | 224 |
| 84 | Carrabba's Italian Grill | 232 | 233 | 233 |
| 85 | Logan's Roadhouse | 227 | 212 | 203 |
| 85 | O'Charley's | 227 | 230 | 245 |
| 87 | California Pizza Kitchen | 223 | 225 | 221 |
| 88 | P.F. Chang's China Bistro | 206 | 203 | 199 |
| 89 | Romano's Macaroni Grill | 198 | 197 | 210 |
| 90 | Sheraton Hotels | 190 | 186 | 210 |
| 91 | Famous Dave's | 187 | 182 | 177 |
| 92 | Bonefish Grill | 158 | 152 | 152 |
| 93 | The Cheesecake Factory | 156 | 149 | 146 |
| 94 | On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina | 146 | 150 | 151 |
| 95 | Hyatt Hotels | 131 | 126 | 117 |
| 96 | Ruth's Chris Steak House | 116 | 116 | 115 |
| 97 | BJ's Restaurant & Brewery | 115 | 102 | 92 |
| 98 | Cheddar's | 106 | 90 | 80 |
| 99 | Westin Hotels & Resorts | 100 | 99 | 93 |
| 100 | Disney theme parks, hotels & resorts | 27 | 26 | 26 |
