The 10 states that shockingly have the most McDonald’s restaurants

Texas has more McDonald’s restaurants than any other state, but West Virginia wins when you adjust for population. While customers debate McDonald’s menu pricing, a look at where the Golden Arches actually operate produces a very different kind of surprise.

A September 2026 state-by-state location study places Texas just ahead of California in raw numbers. Yet neither state makes the per-capita top 10. The two lists tell very different stories about where the chain is most concentrated.

The 10 states with the most McDonald’s locations

1. Texas — 1,305 locations
2. California — 1,260 locations
3. Florida — 925 locations
4. Illinois — 666 locations
5. Ohio — 630 locations
6. New York — 603 locations
7. Michigan — 532 locations
8. North Carolina — 492 locations
9. Pennsylvania — 485 locations
10. Georgia — 457 locations

Texas edges California by just 45 restaurants, an unexpectedly narrow gap given how much larger California’s population is. Illinois ranks fourth, beating New York despite having fewer residents. And Ohio, with 630 locations, finishes ahead of both New York and Michigan. The big-state ranking largely rewards population, but not perfectly.

The 10 states with the most McDonald’s locations per capita

These figures measure locations per 100,000 people, using the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 state population estimates. The unrounded rates determine the order; figures shown here are rounded to two decimal places.

1. West Virginia — 105 locations; 5.95 per 100,000 residents
2. Kentucky — 267 locations; 5.80 per 100,000 residents
3. Arkansas — 170 locations; 5.46 per 100,000 residents
4. Ohio — 630 locations; 5.29 per 100,000 residents
5. Missouri — 331 locations; 5.28 per 100,000 residents
6. Indiana — 367 locations; 5.26 per 100,000 residents
7. Michigan — 532 locations; 5.25 per 100,000 residents
8. Illinois — 666 locations; 5.24 per 100,000 residents
9. Louisiana — 241 locations; 5.22 per 100,000 residents
10. Wyoming — 30 locations; 5.10 per 100,000 residents

West Virginia’s 105 locations work out to nearly six restaurants for every 100,000 residents. That is considerably more than Texas, whose 1,305 locations translate to roughly four per 100,000. Small-state math puts West Virginia on top even though Texas has more than twelve times as many restaurants.

Kentucky and Arkansas also rise sharply. Kentucky is nowhere near the top ten by total locations, yet its 267 restaurants give it second place per capita. Arkansas makes an even more dramatic leap, going from 170 locations to third place after population is considered. Ohio is the rare state that places in both lists, while Wyoming appears on the per-capita list with only 30 restaurants.

The study counted 14,102 locations nationwide including Washington, D.C., and included 43 marked temporarily closed. This is a snapshot of recorded locations, not a promise that every restaurant is open today. Rankings cover the 50 states; D.C. is excluded from the state lists.

Location counts come from SphereScout’s state-by-state McDonald’s data, dated September 8, 2026. Different restaurant-location directories sometimes report different totals because their collection dates and inclusion rules differ. Both lists above consistently use this single dataset.

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