Employment in the quick service restaurant franchise industry in the U.S. 2007-2021

In 2020, an estimated 3.54 million employees worked in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) franchise industry in the United States. This figure shows a decrease of 8.7 percent when compared to the previous year's total of 3.88 million.

Restaurant franchising in the United States

There are two types of QSR: company-owned stores and franchised. Company-owned stores are managed by a qualified and experienced employee of the company, whereas the franchise model sees an entrepreneur invest their own money into the project. The franchisee becomes the owner of the restaurant once they pay the initial start-up fees, and it is their responsibility to ensure the success of the store. In the United States, the number of franchised stores in the QSR industry was estimated to be around 183,543 thousand in 2020, and the output of those franchise businesses was projected to generate approximately 265 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.

How do companies make money from franchised stores?

Burger chain McDonald’s has grown from humble beginnings to become the leading QSR worldwide. In 2021, restaurant sales from the company’s franchised stores located around the world increased to more than 100 billion U.S. dollars. The company's franchised restaurants generated a worldwide revenue of around 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 – around half of which was made through rent payments. It is worth noting that franchised sales are not recorded as revenues of McDonald’s.