These states have the highest concentration of fast-food restaurants in America

It's no secret that Americans love fast food. In fact, research from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics shows that about one-third of those living in the United States eat fast food every single day. It isn't a hard feat, consideringthere's a McDonald's in every major city in the country.

2018-06-26T14:01:59Z
  • Americans love fast food. In fact, about one-third of Americans eat fast food every day.
  • Research firm Datafiniti studied how many fast-food restaurants exist per capita in the United States to see which areas of the country have the highest concentration of fast food.
  • The state with the most fast food per capita had 6.3 restaurants for every 10,000 people living there.

It's no secret that Americans love fast food. 

In fact, research from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics shows that about one-third of those living in the United States eat fast food every single day. It isn't a hard feat, considering there's a McDonald's in every major city in the country.

Recent research from Datafiniti looked into how many fast-food restaurants there are per capita in the US by extracting data on fast-food restaurant locations and then sorting them geographically to see which areas of the country have the highest concentration.

Some states have a lot more fast-food restaurants than others do. Southern states have the highest amount of fast food per capita, with the highest ratio being 6.3 restaurants per 10,000 residents. The central US isn't far behind, with some Midwestern states having as many as five fast-food restaurants per 10,000 residents. The Northeast has the smallest amount of fast-food restaurants per capita, with New York, New Jersey, and Vermont having fewer than two restaurants per 10,000 residents. 

These are the 15 states with the most fast food per capita: 

15. Kansas: 4.7 restaurants per 10,000 people

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14. Arkansas: 4.7 restaurants per 10,000 people

Facebook/Chick-fil-A

13. Ohio: 4.7 restaurants per 10,000 people

Hollis Johnson

12. Nevada: 4.7 restaurants per 10,000 people

Adam Lau/AP

11. Kentucky: 4.8 restaurants per 10,000 people

David Silverman/Getty Images

10. South Carolina: 4.9 restaurants per 10,000 people

Chick fil A

9. Missouri: 4.9 restaurants per 10,000 people

Lydia Ramsey/Business Insider

8. Georgia: 4.9 restaurants per 10,000 people

Chick-fil-A

7. District of Columbia: 5 restaurants per 10,000 people

Customers placing orders at a McDonald's in a shopping mall. Jacky Naegelen/Reuters

6. Indiana: 5 restaurants per 10,000 people

Marina Nazario/Business Insider

5. Tennessee: 5.2 restaurants per 10,000 people

Hollis Johnson

4. Oklahoma: 5.3 restaurants per 10,000 people

Dominick Reuter/Reuters

3. West Virginia: 5.3 restaurants per 10,000 people

In this Thursday, April 25, 2013, photo, a pedestrian walks past a Burger King restaurant near downtown Los Angeles. AP

2. Nebraska: 5.4 restaurants per 10,000 people

Hollis Johnson

1. Alabama: 6.3 restaurants per 10,000 people

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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