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1 correction found
Subway actually has like twice as many locations in America as McDonalds has
That overstates the gap. Recent U.S. counts put Subway at about 1.4 times McDonald’s footprint, not anywhere near 2 times.
Full reasoning
The latest available U.S. store counts around the date of this post do not show Subway having anything close to double McDonald’s U.S. locations.
- McDonald’s says in its 2025 annual report that it had 13,706 U.S. restaurants at year-end 2025.
- QSR Magazine reported that Subway ended 2025 with 18,773 U.S. units.
That works out to about 1.37× as many Subway locations as McDonald’s, not “like twice as many.”
Even if you use the prior year’s widely cited 2024 counts, the gap is still far short of 2×: Restaurant Business/Technomic lists Subway at 19,502 U.S. units in 2024, while McDonald’s reported 13,559 U.S. restaurants for 2024. That is about 1.44×, still nowhere near double.
So the general idea that Subway has more U.S. locations than McDonald’s is true, but the specific claim that it has about twice as many is not supported by the published counts.
3 sources
- McDonald's Corporation 2025 Annual Report / Form 10-K
Systemwide restaurants at year end: 2025 ... U.S. 13,706; 2024 ... U.S. 13,557; 2023 ... U.S. 13,457.
- QSR Magazine: Subway Cuts Hundreds More Stores as Rightsizing Effort Continues
The sandwich giant shuttered a net of 729 restaurants in 2025, ending with 18,773 units nationwide... McDonald’s is next with 13,706 restaurants.
- Restaurant Business / Technomic Top 500: Subway | 2025
Technomic's Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report ... 2024 U.S. Units: 19,502.