# How many McDonald's are there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2000, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337 "2000-10-17T23:49:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ISBop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@ISBop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISBop)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/1 "2000-10-17T23:49:20Z")
How many McDonald’s are there in the whole world? I’ve been wondering this for a while, but I don’t know of any way of doing this. I know there’s one every mile along the road I live on, so there’s a LOT of McDonald’s. Anyone a McD’s manager or anything, and has access to the actual number? ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/2 "2000-10-17T23:53:38Z")
About 2 minutes of searching at [http://www.mcdonalds.com](http://www.mcdonalds.com) revealed this link: > **[Website Maintenance: Be Back Soon | McDonald’s](https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/errors/404.html)** > > Website Maintenance: Be Back Soon | McDonald’s According the press release, the 25,000th McDonalds opened in October, 1999. I’d guess just a few hundred at most (probably 100 or so) have opened in the last year. I saw somewhere else on the website that there are McDonalds in 119 countries. Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/3 "2000-10-17T23:55:08Z")
Actually, more than 1,000 in the past year. [McDonald’s is the largest and best-known global foodservice retailer with more than 26,000 restaurants in 119 countries.](http://www.mcdonalds.com/corporate/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/4 "2000-10-18T00:06:31Z")
Well, I was only off by one order of magnitude 😉 Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/5 "2000-10-18T00:12:27Z")
I liked your answer better anyway, **Arjuna**. The thought that these guys are opening three sites a day is depressing. Oh, and **ISBop** , I forgot. Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/6 "2000-10-18T00:16:58Z")
::groan:: Simple answer-- too many. ---
**Author:** ![Susu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Susu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/7 "2000-10-18T00:19:49Z")
There is a boarded-up McDonalds in Greenville, Maine. (I smile every time I see it, as it stands as a testement that civilization has not yet fully beaten into submission the world of mom-and-pop stores and _good_ cheap food.) I had heard that this was the only McDonalds ever to go out of business. Does anyone know if this is true. ---
**Author:** ![ISBop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@ISBop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISBop)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/8 "2000-10-18T00:26:56Z")
Nope. I know of 2 shut-down McDonalds just in my city of Raleigh, NC. One was inside a strip mall on an out-of-the-way road where nothing did very well. The other was on a 4-lane divided road right behind a thick stand of trees, so you couldn’t see it and stop until you were past it. Both of these have shut down just in the past year. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/9 "2000-10-18T00:42:42Z")
One closed in Beverly, MA, too. It was bought out by the state so they could build a bridge that started in it’s parking lot though, so I doubt that it counts. It has since been replaced by another 1 mile away. The one 1 mile away from the new one is still going strong. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/10 "2000-10-18T00:43:44Z")
Ooh, forgot. The one inside the Wal\*Mart in Troy, NY closed, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/11 "2000-10-18T00:55:36Z")
If I recall correctly, McDonalds is only second among fast food places if you just look at the U.S. Subway has more U.S. outlets than McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/12 "2000-10-18T01:53:11Z")
Subway’s website says they have 14,605 outlets in 75 countries, so it has a way to go catch McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/13 "2000-10-18T05:55:41Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Flymaster \* > \*\*Ooh, forgot. The one inside the Wal_Mart in Troy, NY closed, as well. \*\* That’s funny. The one inside the Wal\*Mart in Fridley, MN closed fairly recently, too. It’s not too surprising, though, since a full-size McDonald’s (with Playland and everything) is only a few blocks away! They’ve replaced it with a set-up more like Target or K-Mart…more of a “store brand” fast-food thing than a national fast-food chain like McDonald’s or Burger King. So, are all the McDonald’ses in Wal\*Marts closing, or just the ones that are too close to full-size McDonald’s restaurants? And what, pray tell, is the proper plural form of “McDonald’s”, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/14 "2000-10-18T08:51:43Z")
BobT writes: \> Subway’s website says they have 14,605 outlets in 75 countries, so it has a way to go catch McDonalds. No, re-read my post. I said that Subway has more U.S. outlets than McDonalds, not that it has more worldwide. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/15 "2000-10-18T09:26:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*Subway’s website says they have 14,605 outlets in 75 countries, so it has a way to go catch McDonalds. \*\* On the other hand, though, a Subway is a much simpler operation that a McDonalds. All you need for a Subway is a counter and one person to make the sandwiches; a McDonalds probably needs 5 or 6 employees to keep it going, plus a full kitchen (Subway uses only a microwave), etc etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/16 "2000-10-18T11:52:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by occ \* > \*\*All you need for a Subway is a counter and one person to make the sandwiches; a McDonalds probably needs 5 or 6 employees to keep it going, plus a full kitchen (Subway uses only a microwave), etc etc etc. \*\* Most of the Subways I’ve been to have had two people, but yeah, you’re right, you need at least twice that many to run a McDonalds. [minor nitpick] Also, my impression was that each Subway bakes its own bread; if that’s true, then they use a lot more than just a microwave. [minor nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/17 "2000-10-18T12:42:19Z")
We had one close in Frederick, MD as well. It was only a small one, but in a horrible place. And you can run a McD’s with three people, one front line, one cook, one drive through. oh and if you get unlucky like me it can be run with one. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/18 "2000-10-18T12:57:27Z")
Just remembered-- One of the McDs here near a mall bit the dust recently, but 1) it was old and in poor condition, and 2) there was a new McSpawn growing in the mall itself. So I guess it doesn’t really count… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Edward The Head \* > \*\*if you get unlucky like me it can be run with one. \*\* Holy crap! Are you serious?! That sucks, big time. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/19 "2000-10-18T13:45:21Z")
too many ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337/20 "2000-10-18T14:09:27Z")
Re: Subway bread, The baking operation is contained within a 30 x 27 x 80 (approx) wheeled plug in oven- that’s it. Very simple operationally, I could have one running in most anyplace with a faucet and a couple outlets in less than three or four hours. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mcdonalds-are-there/37337.md?page=2)