Chick-fil-A: By the Numbers

States carried by John McCain in 2008 host the fast food chain at a rate of nearly three times as many stores per resident as those won by Barack Obama

With the Mike Huckabee-backed Chick-fil-A “Appreciation Day” and gay-rights backed “kiss-in” come and gone, it remains to be seen whether the (overcooked) coverage of the fast food chain – and the photo-ops its political supporters have staged – has ended as well.

The national attention stemmed from the “pro-family” remarks reiterated by the chain’s COO earlier this summer.

It is interesting that Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, has been one of the staunchest defenders of the restaurant chain, considering there are no such establishments in her home state.

But while Chick-fil-A has restaurants in 39 states across the country, the restaurant – headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia – is still largely regarded as a southern institution.

In political terms of 2012, that means it is largely a red state restaurant.

But to what degree?

A Smart Politics review of Chick-fil-A store locations from the company’s official website finds there are nearly three times the rate of stores per resident in states carried by John McCain in 2008 as those carried by Barack Obama.

Overall, there are 945 Chick-fil-A restaurants in the 22 “McCain states,” or 9.8 stores per one million residents, compared to 767 in the 28 states carried by President Obama, or 3.6 stores per million residents.

Put another way, there are 276,476 residents for every Chick-fil-A in Obama states compared to 101,679 residents per restaurant in McCain states.

The state with the largest ratio of stores per resident is Georgia, where the chain is headquartered.

With 212 Chick-fil-A stores statewide, Georgia has one store per 45,696 residents.

The next top three states all border Georgia – South Carolina at #2 (1 store per 57,103 residents), North Carolina at #3 (64,867), and Alabama at #4 (72,420).

Rounding out the Top 10 are more southern states: Virginia at #5 (1 per 76,933), Tennessee at #6 (90,659), Texas at #7 (92,788), Maryland at #8 (96,226), West Virginia at #9 (109,000) and Arkansas at #10 (112,151). (Note: Maryland is designated as a southern state in the U.S. Census’ regional classifications).

The top non-southern state on the list comes in at #17 with Colorado from the West (1 per 173,421 residents), with Pennsylvania the top northeastern state at #19 (208,236) and Kansas the top Midwestern state at #20 (237,760).

The Bottom 10 states with at least one restaurant that have the lowest ratio of stores per residents are all Obama states.

California (#31), Illinois (#32), New Hampshire (#33), Minnesota (#34), Massachusetts (#35), Wisconsin (#36), Washington (#37), Michigan (#38), and New York (#39) all come in with a ratio of more than 600,000 residents per one restaurant in their respective states.

Of the 11 states without a Chick-fil-A within their borders, seven were carried by Obama (Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont) and four by John McCain (Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota).

Overall, there are 5.6 Chick-fil-A restaurants per one million residents nationwide, or approximately 180,000 Americans for every store.

Ratio of Chick-fil-A Restaurants Per Capita by State

Rank	State	2008 vote	# Stores	Residents per Store
1	Georgia	McCain	212	45,696
2	South Carolina	McCain	81	57,103
3	North Carolina	Obama	147	64,867
4	Alabama	McCain	66	72,420
5	Virginia	Obama	104	76,933
6	Tennessee	McCain	70	90,659
7	Texas	McCain	271	92,788
8	Maryland	Obama	60	96,226
9	West Virginia	McCain	17	109,000
10	Arkansas	McCain	26	112,151
11	Oklahoma	McCain	33	113,677
12	Mississippi	McCain	26	114,127
13	Florida	Obama	164	114,642
14	Louisiana	McCain	35	129,525
15	Delaware	Obama	6	149,656
16	Kentucky	McCain	27	160,717
17	Colorado	Obama	29	173,421
18	Utah	McCain	15	184,259
19	Pennsylvania	Obama	61	208,236
20	Kansas	McCain	12	237,760
21	Indiana	Obama	27	240,141
22	Missouri	McCain	23	260,388
23	Ohio	Obama	42	274,679
24	Arizona	McCain	23	277,914
25	Iowa	Obama	10	304,636
26	New Mexico	Obama	6	343,197
27	New Jersey	Obama	23	382,256
28	Nebraska	McCain	4	456,585
29	Idaho	McCain	3	522,527
30	Wyoming	McCain	1	563,626
31	California	Obama	59	631,423
32	Illinois	Obama	19	675,296
33	New Hampshire	Obama	1	1,316,470
34	Minnesota	Obama	3	1,767,975
35	Massachusetts	Obama	2	3,273,815
36	Wisconsin	Obama	1	5,686,986
37	Washington	Obama	1	6,724,540
38	Michigan	Obama	1	9,883,640
39	New York	Obama	1	19,378,102
40	Alaska	McCain	0	—
40	Connecticut	Obama	0	—
40	Hawaii	Obama	0	—
40	Maine	Obama	0	—
40	Montana	McCain	0	—
40	Nevada	Obama	0	—
40	North Dakota	McCain	0	—
40	Oregon	Obama	0	—
40	Rhode Island	Obama	0	—
40	South Dakota	McCain	0	—
40	Vermont	Obama	0	—

Table compiled by Smart Politics based on information culled from the official website of Chick-fil-A and 2010 U.S. Census data.

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