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Lubbock County, TX — Fast food Saturation

How many fast food exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 28 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Fast food · Quick-service restaurants · Takeout & delivery counters · Pizza delivery · Sandwich & burger chains. Counted together because official statistics use one 722513 code.

Measured density: Above average — 1.25× the U.S. rate (between 1.25× and 1.28× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 13 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 4 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Above the U.S. rate   Lubbock County fast food — 125–128% of the U.S. rate

310 fast food are counted in Lubbock County — 8.3 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 125% of the U.S. rate of 6.7.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 17% between 2015 and 2023 (261 → 306). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 79401 (Lubbock), 79414 (Lubbock), 79424 (Lubbock) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 79403 (Lubbock), 79404 (Lubbock), 79413 (Lubbock).

BLS QCEW puts the latest county-wide count (2026 Q1) at 303 establishments, the freshest available signal.

Measured density: Lubbock County sits at 125% of the U.S. rate for fast food. 4 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 125% and 128% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 79401 and 79414; the lowest measured density is in 79403 and 79404.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing fast food and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Fast food
310–336
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (13 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
8.3
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
6.7
per 10,000 present
County index
1.25×
vs. U.S.
Latest quarter (QCEW)
303
2026 Q1 — county total
Residents
311,047
19 ZIPs with data
Workers
122,184
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
327,394
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+5.1%
+15,804 people
Net migration 2024
+3,845
international +2,193, domestic +1,652
Jobs located here
153,051
LODES 2022, +2.4% since 2019

Lubbock County had an estimated 327,394 residents on July 1, 2024 — 5.1% more than in 2020 (+15,804). In the latest year it gained 4,960 people: births minus deaths +1,095, international migration +2,193, domestic migration +1,652. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

153,051 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+2.4% since 2019), and 141,238 employed residents lived there (+3.3% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
79382 Wolfforth
+29.0%
79423 Lubbock
+16.6%
79424 Lubbock
+13.9%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change

No ZIP had a statistically significant decrease.

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses (no paid employees)

Nonemployer businesses
40
no paid employees (2024)
Receipts
$2.2M
published gross receipts
Receipts per business
$55K
gross, not profit

Census Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees — a separate universe from the employer establishments counted above; a business is in one or the other, never both. They are not storefronts by definition: many are home-based, mobile, or part-time.

We show them beside the density index, not inside it. In categories such as nail and beauty salons, child care, and pet care, one-person businesses can outnumber employer establishments, so the employer-only count understates how many businesses exist. That is not evidence of higher demand.

Receipts are gross revenue reported for these businesses — not profit, and not the size of the local market. Census publishes this only at county level, so it is not shown on the ZIP map. See methodology.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more fast food in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — up 17% since 2015

Number of fast food in Lubbock County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

261
2015
286
2018
276
2020
281
2021
290
2022
306
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
79401 Lubbock
490%
79414 Lubbock
194%
79424 Lubbock
184%
79415 Lubbock
134%
79412 Lubbock
131%
79407 Lubbock
114%
79410 Lubbock
106%
79423 Lubbock
94%
79416 Lubbock
94%
79411 Lubbock
81%
79364 Slaton
79%
79382 Wolfforth
65%
79413 Lubbock
58%
79404 Lubbock
56%
79403 Lubbock
47%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
79403 Lubbock
47%
79404 Lubbock
56%
79413 Lubbock
58%
79382 Wolfforth
65%
79364 Slaton
79%
79411 Lubbock
81%
79416 Lubbock
94%
79423 Lubbock
94%
79410 Lubbock
106%
79407 Lubbock
114%
79412 Lubbock
131%
79415 Lubbock
134%
79424 Lubbock
184%
79414 Lubbock
194%
79401 Lubbock
490%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few fast food may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = fast food per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersFast food Per 10kIndexStatus
79401Lubbock 8,7418,849 43 32.7 490% Very high density
79414Lubbock 17,5966,494 27 13.0 194% High density
79424Lubbock 53,47824,722 81 12.3 184% High density
79415Lubbock 15,79410,942 19 8.9 134% Above average
79412Lubbock 15,0182,113 14 8.7 131% Above average
79407Lubbock 24,00012,326 23 7.6 114% Above average
79410Lubbock 10,1378,029 10 7.1 106% Above average
79423Lubbock 46,99814,379 34 6.3 94% Below average
79416Lubbock 36,4426,897 25 6.3 94% Below average
79411Lubbock 6,8651,083 4 5.4 81% Below average
79364Slaton 7,1291,007 4 5.2 79% Below average
79382Wolfforth 10,5122,090 5 4.3 65% Below average
79413Lubbock 23,3435,404 10 3.8 58% Below average
79404Lubbock 8,5299,922 5 3.7 56% Below average
79403Lubbock 16,0896,385 6 3.1 47% Far below average
79329Idalou 3,322377 0–2 — — Not published
79350New Deal 296103 0–2 — — Not published
79363Shallowater 5,7171,029 0–2 — — Not published
79366Ransom Canyon 1,04133 0–2 — — Not published
79408Lubbock —725 0–2 — — Not published
79409Lubbock —346 0–2 — — Not published
79430Lubbock —7 0–2 — — Not published
79452Lubbock —128 0–2 — — Not published
79453Lubbock —215 0–2 — — Not published
79464Lubbock —284 0–2 — — Not published
79490Lubbock —28 0–2 — — Not published
79493Lubbock —95 0–2 — — Not published
79499Lubbock —103 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Lubbock

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Lubbock retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Lubbock retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Lubbock retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Lubbock County and fast food

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 722513 — limited-service restaurants. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. BLS QCEW (quarterly) is newer than ZBP — 2026 Q1 shows 303 establishments county-wide for this industry. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (6.67 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.