Top 10 Fast-Food Markets In The US

It may come as no surprise that Americans love their quick eats, and a recent survey has confirms this is true, at least in some markets. The survey published by Sandelman & Associates, a California-based market research firm, found the top 10 cities in the country that show a hankering for fast food.

Residents in Southern cities were much more apt to head to the drive-thru than those in the North in 2011, according to the survey. Dallas made the top of the list with 34 percent of the city's population ordering fast food 20 or more times a month, just edging out McAllen, Texas, which had 33 percent.

Three of the top 10 markets, Dallas, McAllen, and Houston, are in Texas, making it the heaviest user of quick-service restaurants, and three are in the Carolinas: Greensboro, Columbia, and Greenville. Providence, R.I., is the only city on the list located north of the Mason-Dixon Line, making the South the true fast-food capital.

The survey also highlighted the top 10 cities for non-fast-food consumers, where people had not visited a quick-service establishment during the previous month. Monterey/Salinas, Calif., took home the title with "fast-food non-users" making up nearly 20 percent of their population.
 

2011 Top 10 Fast-Food Markets

10. Greenville, N.C.

9. Columbia, S.C.

8. Houston, Texas

7. Lexington, Ky.

6. Charleston/ Huntington, W.Va.

5. Greensboro, N.C.

4. Memphis, Tenn.

3. Providence, R.I.

2. McAllen, Texas

1. Dallas, Texas

 

2011 Top 10 Non-Using Markets

10. Albany, N.Y.

9. San Francisco, Calif.

8. Anchorage, Alaska

7. Syracuse, N.Y.

6. Boston, Mass.

5. Providence, R.I.

4. West Palm Beach, Fla.

3.Hartford, Conn.

2. Eugene, Ore.

1. Monterey/ Salinas, Calif.

Sandelman & Associates published the study which was sourced by Quick-Track.

Sean Flynn is a Junior Writer for The Daily Meal. Follow him on Twitter @BuffaloFlynn