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Restaurant industry in the U.S. - Statistics & Facts
Food and drinks sales of the restaurant industry in the United States reached 745.61 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 – a long way from the 42.8 billion seen in 1970. This figure was forecasted to rise again in 2016 to more than 782 billion. The number of employees in the restaurant industry is also forecasted to see growth. In 2015, there were approximately 14 million people working within the industry, by 2026 this number is expected to reach over 16 million.
The restaurant industry in the United States is generally comprised of independent or chain full-service and limited-service restaurants. In 2015, full-service restaurants (FSRs), including chains such as Applebee’s and Red Lobster, generated around 247 billion U.S. dollars in food and drink sales. Limited-service restaurants (LSRs) made over 210 billion that year. The LSR category includes well-known fast-food restaurants and coffee chains, like McDonald’s and Starbucks. McDonald’s is the leading chain restaurant in the U.S. in terms of sales, making 35.84 million U.S. dollars in 2015.
More than 195 million U.S. consumers visited a sit-down restaurant in the spring of 2016. During the same time, over 216 million Americans visited a fast-food place. According to the ACSI Index, Chick-fil-A had the highest customer satisfaction ranking out of 17 limited service competitors. In the same year, McDonald's scored the lowest in the study. The ACSI ranking of all full-service restaurants in the United States has remained at around 80 out of 100 between 2007 and 2016, peaking in 2009 with a score of 84.
Restaurants in the U.S. - Important statistics
- 1. Industry overview
- 2. Sales
+Food and drinks sales of full-service restaurants in the U.S. 2009-2016- +Food and drink sales of limited-service restaurants in the U.S. 2009-2016
- +Food and drink sales of hotel restaurants in the U.S. 2009-2016
- Sales of the leading chain restaurants in the U.S. in 2015
- +Fastest-growing small restaurant chains in the U.S. in 2015, by sales
- 3. Restaurant numbers
- +Number of restaurants in the U.S. 2011-2016
- +Number of establishments in the U.S. fast food industry from 2004 to 2018
- +Number of enterprises in the U.S. fast food industry from 2004 to 2018
- +Number of quick service restaurant franchise establishments in the U.S. 2007-2017
- +Number of full service restaurant franchise establishments in the U.S. 2007-2017
- +Number of chain restaurant franchise establishments in the U.S. 2015
- 4. The employee
- +Number of employees in the restaurant industry in the U.S. 2010-2026
- +Employment in the full service restaurants franchise industry in the U.S. 2007-2017
- +Employment in the quick service restaurant franchise industry in the U.S. 2007-2017
- +Number of foodservice employees in the U.S. 2016, by occupation
- Hourly wages of waiters and waitresses in the U.S. 2016, by percentile distribution
- +Hourly wages of fast food cooks in the U.S. 2016, by percentile distribution
- 5. The customer
- American customer satisfaction index: limited-service restaurants U.S. 2006-2016
- American customer satisfaction index: full-service restaurants in the U.S. 2007-2016
- +People who visited any sit-down restaurant in the U.S. 2016
- +People who visited any fast-food restaurant in the U.S. 2016
- +Most popular limited-service restaurant chains in the U.S. in 2015
- +Most popular casual-dining restaurant chains in the U.S. in 2015
- +Most popular family-dining restaurant chains in the U.S. in 2015
- +Most popular fine-dining restaurant chains in the U.S. in 2015
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