- David Portalatin
- Mar 26
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 7
CHICAGO — March 26, 2025 — Circana LLC, the leading advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior, today released its 2025 Definitive U.S. Restaurant Ranking Report, offering an in-depth look at the brands shaping the future of the restaurant industry as well as insights on consumer spending trends, key growth drivers, and category performance.
In 2024, consumer spending increased by 2%, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth. Remarkably, consumers collectively spent $1 million at restaurants every minute in 2024, with nearly every person in the country dining at one of the top 50 restaurants during the year.
The prevailing theme of 2024 was value, driven by persistently high inflation. Many chains began offering meal deals midway through the year, and this value competition is expected to continue into 2025. Notably, 20 of the top 50 restaurants provided a value meal deal in 2024, achieving varying degrees of success.
"As the industry moves forward, value will remain a crucial strategy, although the most effective approaches will extend beyond mere pricing. For instance, nostalgia has emerged as a compelling tactic that consistently drives traffic gains for restaurants and will be a trend that we continue to watch."
David Portalatin - Senior Vice President and Food Industry Advisor for Circana
To qualify for the Top 50, a restaurant must achieve annual consumer spending exceeding $1.35 billion. Collectively, the top 50 restaurants account for 61% of the entire restaurant industry’s spending, despite representing only 24% of all restaurant locations.
Among the top 50, 34 are quick-service restaurants (QSRs), 11 are casual dining establishments, and five are midscale chains. The QSR hamburger category is the most prominent, featuring 10 chains. However, it was the QSR chicken chains that demonstrated the strongest performance in 2024.
In terms of growth, 28 of the top 50 restaurants experienced dollar sales growth in 2024, while 31 saw an increase in locations. The top 10 restaurants are all QSRs, with Olive Garden recognized as the largest casual dining chain and IHOP leading the midscale category. The top three restaurants—McDonald’s, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A—stand out significantly, collectively generating over $100 billion, which accounts for 32% of the top 50’s total dollar sales.
Methodology
The Definitive Restaurant Ranking leverages multiple data products and services from Circana’s unmatched research product portfolio combined with experienced analyst estimates. Sales estimates represent each chain’s total U.S. system for the year ending December 2024. They are anchored on CREST®, Circana’s flagship, syndicated study of consumer purchases of restaurant-prepared meals, snacks and beverages. Unit counts are sourced from the Fall 2024 release of Circana’s ReCount® service, a census of chains and independent restaurant locations that has been regularly updated since 1988. Today, ReCount provides unit counts and trends for over 1.2 million foodservice operators. Annual buyer penetration and average annual purchase frequency for the year ending December 2024 are sourced from Checkout, Circana’s gold standard longitudinal consumer panel tracking behavior of the same consumers over time. These primary sources and other proprietary Circana data, public reporting, and Circana analysis generate this new industry standard restaurant ranking.
