The Fast Food Capital Of The US Is One Appalachian State

When you think of fast food hotspots in the United States, you may automatically think of coastal states and big cities like New York City and Los Angeles where many iconic fast food brands can be found. You may even think of the South, where brands like Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken got their start.

But, according to a survey from price monitoring website Pricelisto — which measured the number of fast-food restaurants per 100,000 residents — West Virginia takes the crown as the fast-food capital of the U.S. Among the results, which included research of KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and 18 other franchises, West Virginia was found to have 49.04 fast food restaurants for every 100,000 residents.

As the leader of the survey, West Virginia was found to have nearly 900 (868) fast food restaurants among the brands researched, including 164 Subway stores, 104 McDonald's locations, and 72 Wendy's restaurants.

Rounding on the ranking's top five are Kentucky (47.21 restaurants per 100,000 people); Kansas (47.1), Mississippi (46.71), and Ohio (46.63). Vermont and New York were the first and second lowest with 27.65 and 29.47 fast food establishments per 100,000 people respectively. As a point of order, if you're traveling through West Virginia, we recommend ordering an All-American Club, an authentic American sandwich with a nice mix of meat.

Apart from being the nation's fast food capital, the Mountaineer State is a land of culinary delights. During Christmas, West Virginians are said to favor egg nog and the state is also one of three states where you can't find a Costco because of its smaller population. Another can't-miss spot in West Virginia is True Treats Candy Store in Harper's Ferry. It's like a tasty walk through candy history that ends with a chance to buy some of your favorite candies.