The State With The Most Wendy's Locations, Hands Down

You'd be hard-pressed to find an American who isn't familiar with Wendy's. It's one of the most popular fast-food chains in the nation, with locations in all 50 states. However, certain states seem to have more love for Wendy's than others and one state surpasses them all with the most Wendy's locations, hands-down.

The data company Scrapehero reports that as of September 2024, Wendy's has 6009 locations nationwide. Florida boasts the highest number of Wendy's restaurants with 521, 9% of the total number. The reason behind this isn't entirely clear, but we'd guess it's Floridians' love for the chain combined with a high population. According to Scrapehero, the state has over 21 million people. So while it isn't the most populous in the nation, it's up there. And when you crunch the numbers, the state has one Wendy's restaurant per every 41 thousand people.

However, things are changing rapidly for the famous fast-food chain. Sadly, the world's first Wendy's already shut its doors, and rumors of more shutdowns have people wondering if the company is in trouble. Read on to discover what lies ahead for the popular fast-food chain, both in Florida and beyond.

If you haven't heard the news, Wendy's is closing over 100 restaurants nationwide. To be more precise, CNN reported that Wendy's plans to shut down 140 of its locations which CEO Kirk Tanner explains are "outdated and located in underperforming [areas]." Wendy's is bound to make mistakes along the way and this sounds fairly status-quo for a large corporation. However, the company did not specify which locations are set for closure.

Scrapehero data shows that the second-place status is currently held by Texas, with 467 Wendy's locations. That means before shutdowns, Florida boasts 54 more. We'd be surprised if this number drops drastically. In an interview with USA Today, Wendy's spokesperson Heidi Schauer explains, "After our strategic review, we now expect a similar number of closures as openings, so we expect net unit growth in 2024 to be roughly flat."

So what does all this mean for Florida? That remains to be seen, but rest assured, Wendy's will hold strong in the state. Even after the changes, Florida will likely maintain its title as the state with the most Wendy's restaurants.