Quick-service restaurants in North Carolina: 9,044 locations, +1.4% jobs
Official counts for quick-service restaurants in North Carolina, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how North Carolina compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
North Carolina against the country · 2026 Q1
| North Carolina | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Quick-service restaurants with employees | 9,044 | 272,118 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 81.9 | 80 |
| Jobs | 171,312 | 4,552,657 |
| Jobs, year over year | +1.4% | +0.2% |
| Locations, year over year | +5.6% | +1.6% |
| Average weekly wage | $405 | $464 |
| Rank among states, density | 20 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 9 of 50 |
What the numbers say
North Carolina has 9,044 quick-service restaurants with payroll, employing 171,312 people. At 81.9 per 100,000 residents the market is close to the national average, number 20 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs grew +1.4% over the year, ahead of the national +0.2%. Locations grew faster than jobs, which usually means more and smaller operators entering: the kind of market where the cheapest service gets crowded first.
Average pay at quick-service restaurants in North Carolina is $405 a week, 13% below the national figure of $464. Budget labor from this number, not from a national guide.
Over five years, from 2021 to 2025, the number of quick-service restaurants in North Carolina moved +9.6%, from 7,984 to 8,754.
Quick-service restaurants in North Carolina, annual average
- 20217,984
- 20228,268
- 20238,632
- 20248,816
- 20258,754
Jobs at quick-service restaurants in North Carolina
- 2021153,450
- 2022160,124
- 2023168,036
- 2024171,013
- 2025171,620
What counts as quick-service restaurants here
Limited-service restaurants: customers order at a counter or drive-through and pay before eating. Includes fast food, fast casual and pizza delivery. The code is NAICS 722513. BLS counts establishments that report payroll, so a one-person business with no employees is not in these figures; in trades with many solo operators the true number of businesses is higher.
Before you open one in North Carolina
A statewide figure tells you which way the wind blows. It does not tell you whether the corner you are looking at has the households, the income and the gap in competition to support one more. A counts the quick-service restaurants within reach of one address in North Carolina, reads the county trend from the same BLS table, and scores the plan. The saturation check does a city-level version for free.
Questions people ask
How many quick-service restaurants are there in North Carolina?
BLS counted 9,044 quick-service restaurants with employees in North Carolina in 2026 Q1, employing 171,312 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 81.9 per 100,000 residents, against 80 nationally.
Are quick-service restaurants growing in North Carolina?
Yes. Jobs at quick-service restaurants in North Carolina changed +1.4% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed +5.6%. That ranks North Carolina 9 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +9.6%.
Is North Carolina a crowded market for quick-service restaurants?
North Carolina has 81.9 quick-service restaurants per 100,000 residents, close to the national average, ranking 20 of 50 states. Density is a statewide average; a Neur report counts the competitors around one address.
Quick-service restaurants in every state
Densest first. The number is quick-service restaurants per 100,000 residents in 2026 Q1.
Other business types in North Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private sector, NAICS 722513, 2026 Q1 (quarterly) and annual averages (five-year series); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year population estimates. This page is generated from those feeds and rewritten when a new quarter publishes. All 14 business types in North Carolina · Growth ranking for North Carolina · Quick-service restaurants by state