# Greatest number of locations (retail or other) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458 "2007-08-13T18:12:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/1 "2007-08-13T18:12:40Z")
What business under a single name has the most U.S. locations? (Business being defined here as a location open to the public where a commodity is sold) McDonalds? Starbucks? Walgreens? Amoco? (All have to have the same name even though owned by the same company, i.e. Chevrons, Texacos, & Caltex’ have to be counted seperately). I don’t have the answer. Guesses or factual answers welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/2 "2007-08-13T18:16:46Z")
I believe Subway locations outnumber McDonalds locations. My guess would certainly be a gas station chain like Texaco. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/3 "2007-08-13T18:22:40Z")
United States Postal Service? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/4 "2007-08-13T18:23:26Z")
I asked this question a while ago [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=401661). The answer seems to be Subway. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/5 "2007-08-13T19:43:11Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] United States Postal Service? [/QUOTE] Probably not. While each town usually has 1 post office they often have more than 1 McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/6 "2007-08-13T20:10:58Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Probably not. While each town usually has 1 post office they often have more than 1 McDonalds. [/QUOTE] But many towns have post offices by no McDonald’s. In Southold town, NY, there are 9 post office branches and only one McDonald’s. McDonald’s wins in urban areas, but the USPS wins in rural ones. There are 17,500 post office branches. McDonald’s has 29,000 worldwide, so it’s possible they have fewer branches in the US, and probably have fewer overall if you include all international post office (or the local equivalent) branches. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/7 "2007-08-13T20:13:02Z")
US sytemwide (franchise & company owned) units at the end of 2006: Subway: 20,755 McDonald’s: 13,774 Starbucks: 9,401 Pizza Hut: 7,532 Burger King: 7,530 However, from the USPS jobs website [here](http://federaljobs.net/usps.htm): > [@](#): > > The U. S. Postal Service (USPS) employs over 773,000 workers in 300 job categories for positions at 39,000 post offices, branches, stations, and community post offices throughout the United States. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-number-of-locations-retail-or-other/415458/8 "2007-08-13T20:16:41Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Probably not. While each town usually has 1 post office they often have more than 1 McDonalds Probably yes. According to that other thread, Subway was the winner for most ubiquitous chain, with some 20,496 restaurants in the US. On the other hand, [in 2006,](http://www.usps.com/history/anrpt06/fsection_004.htm) the Post Office had 27,318 post offices, as well as another 9000 “classified branches,” “classified stations,” “carrier annexes,” and “contract postal units,” whatever those mean. Still, 27K \> 20K. [Beaten by **Big\_Norse** , but I got a better cite, so nyeah.]