The top three burger chains, all QSRs, own two-thirds of the category's sales. But fast casuals have the largest growth and have drawn burger chains toward upgraded offerings. As a category, burger brands among the Top 500 increased sales by 2.7% to $78 billion and units by 1% to 43,787. The largest gains were made by smaller players, but Five Guys' and Whataburger's 9% increases in sales are notable.
2017 Rank | Chain Name | 2016 U.S. Sales ($000) | 2016 U.S. Units |
| 1 | McDonald's | 36,389,000 | 14,155 |
| 4 | Burger King | 9,430,100* | 7,161 |
| 6 | Wendy's | 8,963,600* | 5,739 |
| 12 | Sonic Drive-In | 4,518,098 | 3,557 |
| 22 | Jack in the Box | 3,461,540 | 2,255 |
| 32 | Hardee's | 2,241,241 | 1,848 |
| 34 | Whataburger | 2,181,348 | 806 |
| 39 | Carl's Jr. | 1,519,757 | 1,163 |
| 41 | Five Guys Burgers and Fries | 1,436,922 | 1,284 |
| 43 | Culver's | 1,301,378 | 605 |
| 47 | Steak 'n Shake | 1,075,000* | 568 |
| 56 | In-N-Out Burger | 807,100* | 325 |
| 76 | White Castle | 564,233 | 384 |
| 82 | Checkers Drive-In Restaurants | 532,400* | 555* |
| 92 | Krystal Company | 416,930 | 367 |
| 111 | Smashburger | 344,000* | 343 |
| 112 | Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers | 340,458 | 236 |
| 126 | The Habit Burger Grill | 298,119 | 172 |
| 130 | Shake Shack | 280,350* | 71 |
| 132 | Rally's Hamburgers | 272,500* | 295* |
| 151 | Fuddruckers | 239,200* | 170 |
| 163 | A&W All-American Food | 223,000 | 632 |
| 216 | BurgerFi | 148,200* | 106 |
| 221 | Jack's | 143,400* | 141 |
| 228 | Farmer Boys | 136,200* | 88 |
*Technomic estimate; Source: Technomic's Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report