It’s easy to take fast food for granted, with drive-thrus lining the streets of just about any city, but it turns out, some places pay more attention to fast food than others. The distinguished Escoffier School of Culinary Arts studied fast food availability and spending trends across the country and their new report reveals which states have the best fast food scenes.
- The study analyzes each state’s percentage of fast food compared to all restaurants, the number of fast food establishments per capita and the percentage of dining out spending that goes to fast food.
- Using data from the National Restaurant Association and the U.S. Census Bureau, Escoffier then ranks the states.
- Based on all of that, the study finds that Maryland has the best fast food scene in the country.
- It has the highest percentage of fast food restaurants in the country, with nearly half of all restaurants offering fast food. That’s much higher than the national average of 36%.
- Hawaii is the state with the most fast food restaurants per 100-thousand people, which researchers say makes sense with so many hungry tourists to feed.
- New York has the second-most, followed by Maryland.
- When it comes to spending, Nevada is the state that spends the highest percentage of their dining budget on fast food. Hawaii comes in second, followed by New York.
The Top 10 States With the Best Fast Food Scenes
- Maryland
- Nevada
- Illinois
- New York
- Hawaii
- California
- Ohio
- Massachusetts
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
Source: Food and Wine