About what share of US restaurants have fewer than 50 employees?
Answerabout 90%
The restaurant industry is overwhelmingly made up of small operations, not big chains.
Source: National Restaurant Association (2024) restaurant.org
Food · Facts & sources
Chain facts & stats
5 sourced facts about chain restaurants versus independent restaurants, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Going deeper
About how many independent restaurant locations were there in the US in 2025?
Answerabout 412,500
That number actually shrank during 2025 amid rising food, labor and interest costs.
Source: Nation's Restaurant News (2025) nrn.com
About how big is the total US restaurant industry's direct economic output?
Answer$1.4 trillion
That's about 6% of the entire US economy, before counting indirect effects.
Source: National Restaurant Association (2024) restaurant.org
Expert level
About how much in combined sales did the top 1,500 restaurant chains generate in 2025?
Answerover $480 billion
Large chains benefit from scale, brand recognition and marketing budgets independents can't match.
Source: Nation's Restaurant News (2025) nrn.com
What share of restaurant firms are minority-owned, compared with 30% across all US businesses?
Answer41%
The restaurant industry is often cited as an accessible entry point for first-time business owners.
Source: National Restaurant Association (2024) restaurant.org
Think you'd have guessed them?Today's round is four stats like these plus one opinion poll. Your streak and level follow you to every site.Play today's round