America’s Biggest Restaurant Chain Has 647 Illinois Locations

I'm not good at math, but I do seem to succeed at fast food math. There's a new declaration of America's biggest restaurant chain and my fingers and toes count reveals that it has 641 locations in Illinois.

This new ranking by Nation's Restaurant News of (you guessed it) restaurants just calculated the biggest restaurant chain in America and it really shouldn't be a surprise, but it was for me.

The #1 biggest restaurant chain in America did $53.1 billion dollars in business for the most recent complete year counted (that's 2023, by the way) and has a total of 13,457 franchises. That legendary chain is, of course, McDonalds. 

Statistica says that Illinois has 647 McDonalds locations. NBC Chicago says this makes Illinois the 5th most popular state for McDonalds franchises. Impressive in a Big Mac kind of way. They also tabulated that the Big Mac is the most popular McDonalds food in Illinois ahead of the infamous Happy Meal which my kids would very much disagree with.

One final Illinois McDonalds note: the NBC Chicago story added that there have been over 15 million searches for McDonalds in the Land of Lincoln. Obsessed a little bit, are we?

It really does make sense when you think about it considering that it was Des Plaines, Illinois where Ray Kroc's restaurant chain became McDonalds. There are few joys in life greater than when the attendant accidentally gives you 11 McNuggets instead of 10. Winning.