5 guesses on which state has the most Chipotles per person. You won’t get it.

California has more Chipotle restaurants than any other state, but Ohio—not California or Texas—has the highest concentration once population is considered. That’s a surprising twist on an earlier ranking of the states with the most Chipotles, where sheer restaurant totals determined the order.

An October 2026 tally from StoreLocationData, compiled from Chipotle’s public restaurant locator, counts 4,148 U.S. locations, including 21 in Washington, D.C. Using U.S. Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025, the rankings below compare the 50 states by total restaurants and by locations per 100,000 residents.

The 10 states with the most Chipotle restaurants

1. California — 532 restaurants
2. Texas — 374 restaurants
3. Florida — 326 restaurants
4. Ohio — 271 restaurants
5. New York — 256 restaurants
6. Illinois — 189 restaurants
7. Pennsylvania — 157 restaurants
8. Virginia — 150 restaurants
9. Georgia — 137 restaurants
10. Maryland — 128 restaurants

California’s 532 locations put it 158 ahead of Texas, while Florida lands third. But fourth-place Ohio has 271 restaurants, more than New York’s 256—even though New York has approximately 8.1 million more residents. The raw-count ranking does not simply mirror the country’s population map.

Maryland is another surprise. Its 128 locations edge out North Carolina’s 126, despite North Carolina having nearly twice as many residents. Virginia ranks eighth with 150 restaurants, surpassing more-populous Georgia’s 137. Colorado, where Chipotle opened its first restaurant in 1993, is only 15th by total locations, with 93.

The 10 states with the most Chipotle restaurants per capita

The figures below show restaurants per 100,000 residents, calculated using July 2025 Census population estimates. States are ranked before the rates are rounded to two decimal places.

1. Ohio — 271 restaurants; 2.28 per 100,000 residents
2. Maryland — 128 restaurants; 2.04 per 100,000 residents
3. Virginia — 150 restaurants; 1.69 per 100,000 residents
4. Minnesota — 96 restaurants; 1.65 per 100,000 residents
5. Colorado — 93 restaurants; 1.55 per 100,000 residents
6. Arizona — 114 restaurants; 1.50 per 100,000 residents
7. Illinois — 189 restaurants; 1.49 per 100,000 residents
8. Rhode Island — 16 restaurants; 1.44 per 100,000 residents
9. Kansas — 42 restaurants; 1.41 per 100,000 residents
10. Nevada — 46 restaurants; 1.40 per 100,000 residents

Ohio jumps from fourth in total locations to first per capita. Its 271 restaurants amount to 2.28 per 100,000 residents, ahead of Maryland’s 2.04. Virginia moves from eighth overall to third per capita. These three states are unusually strong in both rankings, rather than just benefiting from very small populations.

Rhode Island provides perhaps the biggest twist. Just 16 Chipotle restaurants are enough to place it eighth per capita. Kansas makes ninth with 42 locations, and Nevada takes tenth with 46. None of those states comes close to cracking the top ten by raw restaurant count.

California, meanwhile, drops from first overall to 13th per capita, with about 1.35 restaurants per 100,000 residents. Texas falls from second to 20th at just 1.18. That means Ohio has nearly twice as many Chipotles per resident as Texas, despite Texas operating 103 more restaurants in total.

Colorado’s fifth-place per-capita showing adds a final surprise: the chain’s birthplace is far more prominent on the population-adjusted list than on the overall ranking. Alaska and Hawaii have no Chipotle locations in the October snapshot, while Washington, D.C., is excluded because the lists rank states only.

Links on this page may be affiliate links, for which the site earns a small commission, but the price for you is the same