Quick-service restaurants in Rhode Island: 970 locations, +1.2% jobs
Official counts for quick-service restaurants in Rhode Island, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how Rhode Island compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
Rhode Island against the country · 2026 Q1
| Rhode Island | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Quick-service restaurants with employees | 970 | 272,118 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 87.2 | 80 |
| Jobs | 11,259 | 4,552,657 |
| Jobs, year over year | +1.2% | +0.2% |
| Locations, year over year | -1.0% | +1.6% |
| Average weekly wage | $505 | $464 |
| Rank among states, density | 10 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 10 of 50 |
What the numbers say
Rhode Island has 970 quick-service restaurants with payroll, employing 11,259 people. At 87.2 per 100,000 residents the market is close to the national average, number 10 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs grew +1.2% over the year, ahead of the national +0.2%. Jobs grew faster than locations, which means existing operators are hiring: demand is being absorbed by the businesses already open.
Average pay at quick-service restaurants in Rhode Island is $505 a week, 9% above 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 Rhode Island moved +9.9%, from 890 to 978.
Quick-service restaurants in Rhode Island, annual average
- 2021890
- 2022902
- 2023925
- 2024948
- 2025978
Jobs at quick-service restaurants in Rhode Island
- 202110,235
- 202210,510
- 202310,789
- 202411,254
- 202511,558
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 Rhode Island
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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island?
BLS counted 970 quick-service restaurants with employees in Rhode Island in 2026 Q1, employing 11,259 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 87.2 per 100,000 residents, against 80 nationally.
Are quick-service restaurants growing in Rhode Island?
Yes. Jobs at quick-service restaurants in Rhode Island changed +1.2% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed -1.0%. That ranks Rhode Island 10 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +9.9%.
Is Rhode Island a crowded market for quick-service restaurants?
Rhode Island has 87.2 quick-service restaurants per 100,000 residents, close to the national average, ranking 10 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 Rhode Island
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 Rhode Island · Growth ranking for Rhode Island · Quick-service restaurants by state