Turns Out, America's Favorite Chain Restaurant Isn't McDonald's

When asked to name the biggest restaurant chain in the world today, some may think of their favorite coffee shop (Starbucks is the second biggest restaurant on Earth) — but most would correctly answer with McDonald's. However, when looking at popularity in terms of positive opinion rather than size, that couldn't be further from the truth. Stacker.com released a report on the most popular restaurant chains in America, according to YouGov data from July, August, and September 2024. In this analysis, instead of looking at a chain's number of locations or overall foot traffic, the highest-ranked restaurants gained traction due to a high approval score amongst consumers. Thus, rather than McDonald's, Starbucks, or even Subway topping the list, Dairy Queen nabbed the highest approval rating of any restaurant chain in America, with an average positive opinion score of 72%.

While this may be surprising to many — including us; Dairy Queen's soft serve is our least favorite fast food ice cream — it is seemingly indicative of a trend. Across the top ten most popular chains on the list, half of them — including four of the top five — specialize in desserts, be it cinnamon rolls, donuts, or ice cream. While Dairy Queen's top billing was unexpected, its sweet treats likely gave the chain an edge over others in the court of public opinion.

Beyond Dairy Queen's popularity, likely the second-most surprising aspect of this report is the fact that McDonald's didn't even make it into the top 25 restaurants in terms of positive perception. Instead, with a positive opinion score of 58%, McDonald's is only the 30th most popular chain in the United States despite serving the most customers. This score is massively contingent on Millennials, among whom the restaurant got a 63% popularity score, while it got much lower marks for both Gen X (55%) and Baby Boomers (52%). Rather than McDonald's, America's favorite burger chain is actually Wendy's, which placed second behind Dairy Queen with a positive opinion score of 69%. Maybe Dave Thomas regretted naming Wendy's after his daughter, but the home of the Frosty is the only burger chain ranked in the top 10, with a popularity score of 71% among Baby Boomers making all the difference.

As for Dairy Queen, its marks are high across the board, though Baby Boomers once again tipped the scales in the top chain's favor. The ice cream shop garnered an 81% popularity score amongst Baby Boomers, the highest approval rating among any generation for any restaurant on the entire list. As for McDonald's, while its approval rating may not be as high as others, it is perpetually the most financially successful restaurant chain in America, likely lessening the blow of its incredibly low ranking in a popularity contest.