McDonald’s is easily the world’s largest restaurant chain. The Golden Arches boasts nearly 16,000 locations in the United States alone. But that love is not distributed equally.
Videos By Rare
24/7 Wall St. did the math to determine how many McDonald’s restaurants are located in each state, and the number of locations per population density.
The very first McDonald’s opened in San Bernardino, Calif., in 1940. (Its building was torn down in 1972, but some of its items are housed in the Original McDonald’s Museum at 1398 N.E. St.) Decades later, California still holds the crown for the largest number of McDonald’s locations in America. However, due to its enormous population, it also has the third smallest number of McDonald’s restaurants per 100,000 residents.
So which state is tops when it comes to number of McDonald’s per 100,000? It’s Ohio, which has 823 Mickey D’s for its 11.5+ million residents.
RELATED: The “McDonald’s of the future” features unlimited fries — and that’s just the beginning
At the other end of the spectrum, New Jersey has the fewest McDonald’s per 100,000 people, with just 311 locations for nearly 9 million residents.
And poor North Dakotans. The Peace Garden State only has 29 places for folks to get their fill of Big Macs and fries. That’s the smallest number in the nation, although at 30, Vermont isn’t far behind.
Here’s how all 50 states rank in terms of number of McDonald’s per 100,000 residents:
Alabama
- Population: 4,849,377
- Number of McDonald’s: 279
- 5.8 per 100,000
- Rank: #12
Alaska
- Population: 736,732
- Number of McDonald’s: 31
- 4.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #44
Arizona
- Population: 6,731,484
- Number of McDonald’s: 292
- 4.3 per 100,000
- Rank: #41
Arkansas
- Population: 2,966,369
- Number of McDonald’s: 184
- 6.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #6
California
- Population: 38,802,500
- Number of McDonald’s: 1,492
- 3.8 per 100,000
- Rank: #48
Colorado
- Population: 5,355,866
- Number of McDonald’s: 237
- 4.4 per 100,000
- Rank: #38
Connecticut
- Population: 3,596,677
- Number of McDonald’s: 157
- 4.4 per 100,000
- Rank: #40
Delaware
- Population: 935,614
- Number of McDonald’s: 44
- 4.7 per 100,000
- Rank: #33
Florida
- Population: 19,893,297
- Number of McDonald’s: 986
- 5 per 100,000
- Rank: #28
Georgia
- Population: 10,097,343
- Number of McDonald’s: 511
- 5.1 per 100,000
- Rank: #27
Hawaii
- Population: 1,419,561
- Number of McDonald’s: 65
- 4.6 per 100,000
- Rank: #35
Idaho
- Population: 1,634,464
- Number of McDonald’s: 69
- 4.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #42
Illinois
- Population: 12,880,580
- Number of McDonald’s: 738
- 5.7 per 100,000
- Rank: #13
Indiana
- Population: 6,596,855
- Number of McDonald’s: 392
- 5.9 per 100,000
- Rank: #9
Iowa
- Population: 3,107,126
- Number of McDonald’s: 173
- 5.6 per 100,000
- Rank: #15
Kansas
- Population: 2,904,021
- Number of McDonald’s: 184
- 6.3 per 100,000
- Rank: #3
Kentucky
- Population: 4,413,457
- Number of McDonald’s: 261
- 5.9 per 100,000
- Rank: #11
Louisiana
- Population: 4,649,676
- Number of McDonald’s: 291
- 6.3 per 100,000
- Rank: #5
Maine
- Population: 1,330,089
- Number of McDonald’s: 72
- 5.4 per 100,000
- Rank: #19
Maryland
- Population: 5,976,407
- Number of McDonald’s: 375
- 6.3 per 100,000
- Rank: #4
Massachusetts
- Population: 6,745,408
- Number of McDonald’s: 297
- 4.4 per 100,000
- Rank: #39
Michigan
- Population: 9,909,877
- Number of McDonald’s: 631
- 6.4 per 100,000
- Rank: #2
Minnesota
- Population: 5,457,173
- Number of McDonald’s: 282
- 5.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #25
Mississippi
- Population: 2,994,079
- Number of McDonald’s: 162
- 5.4 per 100,000
- Rank: #20
Missouri
- Population: 6,063,589
- Number of McDonald’s: 368
- 6.1 per 100,000
- Rank: #7
Montana
- Population: 1,023,579
- Number of McDonald’s: 55
- 5.4 per 100,000
- Rank: #21
Nebraska
- Population: 1,881,503
- Number of McDonald’s: 89
- 4.7 per 100,000
- Rank: #32
Nevada
- Population: 2,839,099
- Number of McDonald’s: 155
- 5.5 per 100,000
- Rank: #17
New Hampshire
- Population: 1,326,813
- Number of McDonald’s: 69
- 5.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #24
New Jersey
- Population: 8,938,175
- Number of McDonald’s: 311
- 3.5 per 100,000 residents
- Rank: #50
New Mexico
- Population: 2,085,572
- Number of McDonald’s: 100
- 4.8 per 100,000
- Rank: #29
New York
- Population: 19,746,227
- Number of McDonald’s: 767
- 3.9 per 100,000
- Rank: #47
North Carolina
- Population: 9,943,964
- Number of McDonald’s: 475
- 4.8 per 100,000
- Rank: #31
North Dakota
- Population: 739,482
- Number of McDonald’s: 29
- 3.9 per 100,000
- Rank: #46
Ohio
- Population: 11,594,163
- Number of McDonald’s: 823
- 7.1 per 100,000
- Rank: #1
Oklahoma
- Population: 3,878,051
- Number of McDonald’s: 217
- 5.6 per 100,000
- Rank: #14
Oregon
- Population: 3,970,239
- Number of McDonald’s: 205
- 5.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #26
Pennsylvania
- Population: 12,787,209
- Number of McDonald’s: 583
- 4.6 per 100,000
- Rank: #36
Rhode Island
- Population: 1,055,173
- Number of McDonald’s: 44
- 4.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #45
South Carolina
- Population: 4,832,482
- Number of McDonald’s: 258
- 5.3 per 100,000
- Rank: #23
South Dakota
- Population: 853,175
- Number of McDonald’s: 36
- 4.2 per 100,000
- Rank: #43
Tennessee
- Population: 6,549,352
- Number of McDonald’s: 393
- 6 per 100,000
- Rank: #8
Texas
- Population: 26,956,958
- Number of McDonald’s: 1,224
- 4.5 per 100,000
- Rank: #37
Utah
- Population: 2,942,902
- Number of McDonald’s: 111
- 3.8 per 100,000
- Rank: #49
Vermont
- Population: 626,562
- Number of McDonald’s: 30
- 4.8 per 100,000
- Rank: #30
Virginia
- Population: 8,326,289
- Number of McDonald’s: 445
- 5.3 per 100,000
- Rank: #22
Washington
- Population: 7,061,530
- Number of McDonald’s: 326
- 4.6 per 100,000
- Rank: #34
West Virginia
- Population: 1,850,326
- Number of McDonald’s: 101
- 5.5 per 100,000
- Rank: #18
Wisconsin
- Population: 5,757,564
- Number of McDonald’s: 341
- 5.9 per 100,000
- Rank: #10
Wyoming
- Population: 584,153
- Number of McDonald’s: 32
- 5.5 per 100,000
- Rank: #16