McDonald’s, the fast-food chain, served approximately 70 million customers daily through its 40,031 restaurants worldwide in 2021. McDonald’s runs on a heavily franchised business model, thus nearly 93% of its restaurants were franchised restaurants and the rest are company-operated restaurants. McDonald’s generated total revenue of $23.22 billion in 2021, of which nearly $8.71 billion was generated from the restaurants located in the US.
without any McDonalds restaurants
In North America, fast food king McDonald’s operated and franchised by far the largest proportion of restaurants in its home country of the United States, accounting for 13,449 units in 2023. Meanwhile, there were 1,466 McDonald’s establishments in Canada that same year. Kroc and the McDonald brothers fought for control of the business, as documented in Kroc’s autobiography. In 1961, he purchased the McDonald brothers’ equity in the company and began the company’s worldwide reach.[33] The sale cost Kroc $2.7 million, a huge sum during that time.[32] The San Bernardino restaurant was eventually torn down in 1971, and the site was sold to the Juan Pollo chain in 1998.
Brand awareness
It’s hard to go anywhere in the world without stumbling across a neighborhood McDonald’s. Whether you’re in the United States or traveling abroad, the golden arches never seem too far away. In fact, 49 out of the 50 U.S. state capitals have a McDonald’s with the outlier being Montpelier, Vermont, according to FinancesOnline.
Other statistics that may interest you Quick service restaurant brands: McDonald’s
Although California was the U.S. state with the largest number of McDonald’s restaurants, Houston, Texas ranked as the city with the highest number of McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. as of February 2023. The city accounted for a total of 126 McDonald’s restaurants in that month. Meanwhile, Chicago, Illinois had a total of 105 McDonald’s establishments. As of February 2023, the state with the highest number of McDonald’s restaurants in the United States was California, which had 1,224 establishments in that month. Both of these states are home to many of the most well-known fast food restaurants in the United States. Over a third of these (14,146 restaurants) are in the United States alone.
“Take-out” meals are usually delivered with the contents enclosed in a distinctive McDonald’s-branded brown paper bag. In both cases, the individual items are wrapped or boxed as appropriate. The official corporate McDonald’s website explains there are “over 38,000 locations in over 100 countries.” McDonald’s, the second-largest private employer in the world, operates locations on six different continents in more than half of the planet’s countries as of 2022.
Global operations
- McDonald’s generated total revenue of $23.22 billion in 2021, of which nearly $8.71 billion was generated from the restaurants located in the US.
- These three countries make up the majority of global McDonald’s stores.
- Meanwhile, there were 1,466 McDonald’s establishments in Canada that same year.
- As of May 16, 2022, McDonald’s exited “the Russian market” due to the humanitarian crisis “caused by the war in Ukraine” and its inconsistency with the corporation’s values, according to the official McDonald’s website.
- Kroc and the McDonald brothers fought for control of the business, as documented in Kroc’s autobiography.
In 2022, McDonald’s ranked as the leading quick service restaurant chain in the U.S., with systemwide sales totaling approximately 48.6 billion U.S. dollars. Wendy’s sales, by comparison, amounted to only 11.6 billion U.S. dollars. Other burger chains in the ranking included Burger King, Sonic Drive-n, Jack in the Box, and more. Products are offered as either “dine-in” (where the customer opts to eat in the restaurant) or “take-out” (where the customer opts to take the food off the premises). “Dine-in” meals are provided on a plastic tray with a paper insert on the floor of the tray.
These fees, along with occupancy and operating rights, are stipulated in franchise/license agreements that generally have a 20-year term. You can download the complete list of 13,529 McDonalds locations data as an Excel file, along with geo-coded addresses, phone numbers and open hours from our data store. The list of countries follows the company’s own calculation and contains several non-sovereign territories. McDonald’s ceased to be operational in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in previous years.
In 2021, nearly 33.6% of the total restaurants, or 13,438 McDonald’s restaurants were in the US. The other key markets for McDonald’s were China, Japan, France, Canada, Germany, and United Kingdom with 4,395, 2,941, 1,517, 1,452, 1,432, and 1,367 restaurants respectively. There are 13,529 McDonalds restaurants in the United States as of March 12, 2024. The state and territory with the most number of McDonalds locations in the US is California, with 1,221 restaurants, which is about 9% of all McDonalds restaurants in the US.
The second highest number is in Japan, with 2,975 restaurants, followed by China, with 2,700. These three countries make up the majority of global McDonald’s stores. McDonald’s, the American fast-food company, had 13,438 restaurants in the US in 2021, a 2% decrease in the number of outlets as compared to the previous year. In 2021, McDonald’s opened 1,494 restaurants and shut down 661 restaurants globally. The increased number of openings was primarily due to the recovery from the impact of COVID-19 as business returned to the pre-COVID-19 levels. The number of McDonald’s restaurants has grown year over year worldwide.
The company-operated restaurants made up nearly 42.1% of the total revenues, whereas franchised restaurants accounted for 56.3% of the total revenues in 2021. McDonald’s restaurants are either franchised or company-operated, with McDonald’s relying mostly on franchised business model owing to the commercial benefits that the franchise model provides. In the US, out of the 13,438 McDonald’s restaurants, 95% of the restaurants are franchised.
In 2021, McDonald’s generated total revenue of $23.22 billion, of which approximately $8.71 billion was generated from the restaurants located in the US. McDonald’s company-operated restaurants contribute significantly to its ability to act as a credible franchisor. Thus, having Company-owned and operated restaurants provides McDonald’s personnel with a venue for restaurant operations training experience. In addition, in Company-owned and operated restaurants, and in collaboration with franchisees, McDonald’s can further develop and refine operating standards, marketing concepts, and product and pricing strategies.
Bolivia, Ghana, Iran, Iceland and Jamaica are some notable countries without golden arches, says WorldAtlas. McDonald’s has been subject to criticism over the health effects of its products,[23][24] its treatment of employees,[25] and its participation in various legal cases. While the number of McDonald’s restaurants has grown year over year worldwide, the number of US restaurants has decreased over the years, from 14,098 restaurants in 2011 to 13,438 restaurants in 2021. Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). As of May 16, 2022, McDonald’s exited “the Russian market” due to the humanitarian crisis “caused by the war in Ukraine” and its inconsistency with the corporation’s values, according to the official McDonald’s website. In the United States, in 2021, there were 13,438 McDonald’s locations, according to Statista.