Report · Data through Nov 2, 2026

The 2026 Fast Food Census

Name: The 2026 Fast Food Census — item scores
Creator: ChainReaction
Published: 2026-11-02
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Every fast food menu item we track, scored the same way by the people who eat it. The CR Score is the share of an item's ratings at 3.5 stars or higher, smoothed so a handful of opinions can't swing it. This page is live — it regenerates every hour from the current ratings — until Dec 31, 2026, when the 2026 edition is frozen and a 2027 one begins. Quote the “data through” date with any figure.

12,512

ratings

2,817

U.S. diners

254

items scored, of 504 catalogued

chains ranked, of 31 — 80%+ of the menu scored

Download the data (CSV)How the score works

What the numbers say

The best thing in fast food is the In-N-Out Double-Double — Animal Style — CR Score 91, 26 ratings. The worst is the Taco Bell Cheesy Roll Up, at 31 (28 ratings). Both lists count only items with 25+ ratings. See it →
Culver's has the best menu of the 13 chains ranked: an average CR Score of 72.1 across 17 items, 7 of them Fire. Burger King has the weakest, at 57.4. See it →
Of the 254 scored items, 59 are Fire (75+), 172 Solid and 23 Skip. The median item scores 67.
By category, burgers rate best (average 69.7) and tacos worst (61.9).
67% of all 12,512 ratings were 3.5 stars or higher — people mostly like what they order, which is why a score under 50 is rare and worth noticing.

Every chain, ranked

A chain is ranked once at least 80% of its catalogued menu has a score, so a chain whose three best sellers happen to be rated doesn't outrank one where every item, duds included, has been. The average is the plain mean of the chain's scored items.

Fire · 75% and up
Solid · 50% to 74%
Skip · Under 50%

#	Chain	Avg menu CR Score	Scored	Best item	Worst item
1	Culver's	72.1	17 / 20	ButterBurger Deluxe (Single) 91	Cod Sandwich 49
2	Hardee's	69.9	14 / 14	Made From Scratch Biscuit 'N' Gravy 82	Sausage & Egg Biscuit 58
3	Chipotle	69.6	15 / 15	Chicken Burrito Bowl 82	Chips & Salsa 55
4	Jimmy John's	69.6	8 / 8	#5 Vito 84	#6 The Veggie 55
5	Subway	67.4	19 / 19	Spicy Italian 80	Cold Cut Combo 59
6	Wendy's	67.2	21 / 21	Baconator 83	Sausage Biscuit 41
7	Starbucks	65.4	22 / 26	Bacon, Gouda & Egg Breakfast Sandwich 79	Impossible Breakfast Sandwich 44
8	KFC	65.2	22 / 22	Spicy Chicken Sandwich 77	Apple Pie Poppers 52
9	Popeyes	63.6	18 / 18	Signature Fried Chicken 81	Cinnamon Apple Pie 41
10	White Castle	63.6	5 / 5	Loaded Fries 68	Original Slider 55
11	Taco Bell	63.0	18 / 18	Crunchy Taco 79	Cheesy Roll Up 31
12	McDonald's	59.4	21 / 21	Fries 84	Chicken McNuggets 37
13	Burger King	57.4	18 / 21	Double Whopper 78	BK Nuggets 34

Not yet ranked

Part of the menu scored. The average covers only the scored items and will move as the rest come in, so read it as provisional.

#	Chain	Avg menu CR Score	Scored	Best item	Worst item
—	Chick-fil-A	79.9	8 / 21	Chick-n-Strips 83	Waffle Fries 76
—	In-N-Out	82.1	4 / 10	Double-Double — Animal Style 91	Flying Dutchman 76
—	Dunkin'	61.3	4 / 20	Caramel Swirl Iced Coffee 71	Frozen Chai Latte 49
—	Domino's	52.5	3 / 18	Ultimate Pepperoni Pizza 60	Chicken Wings - Buffalo 43
—	Raising Cane's	62.6	2 / 10	Chicken Fingers 63	Crinkle-Cut Fries 62
—	Shake Shack	70.4	2 / 11	Milkshake 76	ShackBurger 65
—	Five Guys	71.8	2 / 15	Cheeseburger 74	Chocolate Milkshake 70
—	Papa John's	59.0	2 / 17	Tuscan Six Cheese Pizza 76	Buffalo Wings 42
—	CAVA	68.5	2 / 20	Chicken + Rice Bowl 83	Steak + Harissa Bowl 54
—	Jack in the Box	65.6	2 / 20	Oreo Cookie Shake 74	Curly Fries 57
—	Dairy Queen	81.7	1 / 10	DQ Blizzard 82
—	Whataburger	65.3	1 / 10	Whataburger 65
—	Pizza Hut	66.6	1 / 15	Hawaiian Luau Pizza 67
—	Sweetgreen	66.6	1 / 16	Super Green Goddess Salad 67
—	Arby's	46.4	1 / 18	Jamocha Shake 46

No item scored yet (under 5 ratings each): Carl's Jr., Panda Express, Sonic Drive-In.

The 25 best things in fast food

Highest CR Score across every chain, among items with 25+ ratings. Ties go to the item with more ratings.

Full rankings →

#	Item	Chain	CR Score	Tier	Ratings
1	Double-Double — Animal Style	In-N-Out	91	FIRE	26
2	ButterBurger Deluxe (Single)	Culver's	91	FIRE	25
3	Bacon Deluxe ButterBurger (Single)	Culver's	85	FIRE	38
4	Fries	McDonald's	84	FIRE	129
5	Chick-n-Strips	Chick-fil-A	83	FIRE	53
6	Baconator	Wendy's	83	FIRE	76
7	Grilled Chicken Sandwich	Chick-fil-A	82	FIRE	50
8	Chicken Burrito Bowl	Chipotle	82	FIRE	50
9	Spicy Chicken Nuggets	Wendy's	82	FIRE	72
10	Dave's Double	Wendy's	82	FIRE	71
11	DQ Blizzard	Dairy Queen	82	FIRE	97
12	Signature Fried Chicken	Popeyes	81	FIRE	46
13	Cheese Curds	Culver's	81	FIRE	30
14	Original Chicken Sandwich	Chick-fil-A	80	FIRE	156
15	Spicy Italian	Subway	80	FIRE	39
16	Mac & Cheese	Chick-fil-A	80	FIRE	49
17	Chili	Wendy's	80	FIRE	78
18	Nuggets	Chick-fil-A	80	FIRE	142
19	Chocolate Shake	Culver's	80	FIRE	33
20	Concrete Mixer	Culver's	80	FIRE	33
21	Dave's Triple	Wendy's	80	FIRE	33
22	Chicken Biscuit	Chick-fil-A	80	FIRE	52
23	Chicken Quesadilla	Chipotle	79	FIRE	37
24	Steak Burrito	Chipotle	79	FIRE	37
25	Crunchy Taco	Taco Bell	79	FIRE	103

The 10 to skip

Lowest CR Score, same 25-rating floor — each of these has been rated by enough people that it isn't a fluke.

#	Item	Chain	CR Score	Tier	Ratings
1	Cheesy Roll Up	Taco Bell	31	SKIP	28
2	BK Nuggets	Burger King	34	SKIP	57
3	Chicken McNuggets	McDonald's	37	SKIP	96
4	Bean Burrito	Taco Bell	37	SKIP	63
5	BK Original Chicken Sandwich	Burger King	38	SKIP	65
6	Sausage Burrito	McDonald's	38	SKIP	33
7	Cheese Quesadilla	Taco Bell	40	SKIP	51
8	McCrispy	McDonald's	42	SKIP	72
9	Chicken Wings - Buffalo	Domino's	43	SKIP	31
10	BK Cheeseburger	Burger King	43	SKIP	86

Category leaderboards

Best average first. Items with 25+ ratings; only categories with 9 or more of them are shown.

Burgers

avg 69.7 · 29 items

Last of 29: BK Cheeseburger at 43

All burgers →

Sides - Fries

avg 68.4 · 12 items

Last of 12: Jack in the Box Curly Fries at 57

All sides - fries →

Subs & Sandwiches

avg 68.2 · 17 items

Last of 17: Subway Cold Cut Combo at 59

All subs & sandwiches →

Desserts / Sweets

avg 67.7 · 14 items

Last of 14: BK Oreo Fusion Sunday at 46

All desserts / sweets →

Drinks

avg 67.2 · 17 items

Last of 17: Starbucks Chai Tea Latte at 52

All drinks →

Sides - Not Fries

avg 66.6 · 19 items

Last of 19: BK Onion Rings at 54

All sides - not fries →

Chicken - Sandwiches

avg 65.7 · 17 items

Last of 17: BK Original Chicken Sandwich at 38

All chicken - sandwiches →

Chicken - Nuggets / Tenders

avg 65.5 · 13 items

Last of 13: BK Nuggets at 34

All chicken - nuggets / tenders →

Breakfast - Sandwiches

avg 64.2 · 12 items

Last of 12: Starbucks Impossible Breakfast Sandwich at 44

All breakfast - sandwiches →

Tacos

avg 61.9 · 9 items

Last of 9: Taco Bell Cheesy Roll Up at 31

All tacos →

The matchups, settled

The same two scores the comparison pages show. The higher CR Score wins.

BK WhoppervsMcDonald's Big Mac

6661

BK Whopper by 5 points over McDonald's Big Mac · 93 and 215 ratings

Popeyes' Classic Chicken SandwichvsChick-fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich

7080

Chick-fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich by 10 points over Popeyes' Classic Chicken Sandwich · 118 and 156 ratings

Wendy's FriesvsMcDonald's Fries

7684

McDonald's Fries by 8 points over Wendy's Fries · 87 and 129 ratings

BK FriesvsMcDonald's Fries

5884

McDonald's Fries by 26 points over BK Fries · 82 and 129 ratings

McDonald's Chicken McNuggetsvsChick-fil-A Nuggets

3780

Chick-fil-A Nuggets by 43 points over McDonald's Chicken McNuggets · 96 and 142 ratings

McDonald's Chicken McNuggetsvsWendy's Spicy Chicken Nuggets

3782

Wendy's Spicy Chicken Nuggets by 45 points over McDonald's Chicken McNuggets · 96 and 72 ratings

McDonald's Big MacvsWendy's Dave's Double

6182

Wendy's Dave's Double by 21 points over McDonald's Big Mac · 215 and 71 ratings

Wendy's FrostyvsDQ Blizzard

7182

DQ Blizzard by 11 points over Wendy's Frosty · 181 and 97 ratings

Wendy's Spicy Chicken SandwichvsPopeyes' Spicy Chicken Sandwich

7673

Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich by 3 points over Popeyes' Spicy Chicken Sandwich · 78 and 102 ratings

Chick-fil-A Waffle FriesvsMcDonald's Fries

7684

McDonald's Fries by 8 points over Chick-fil-A Waffle Fries · 68 and 129 ratings

How the scores spread

67% of all ratings were 3.5 stars or higher, so most items land in the Solid band and a score under 50 is uncommon. Of the 254 scored items, 59 are Fire, 172 Solid and 23 Skip; the median item scores 67.

Fire · 75% and up
Solid · 50% to 74%
Skip · Under 50%

Scored items by CR Score, in 5-point bands. The mark under the axis is the median (67).

How this was measured

Ratings are 1 to 5 stars in half-star steps. An item's CR Score is the share of its ratings at 3.5 stars or higher, smoothed toward the sitewide positive share so an item with few ratings can't sit at 100 or 0. An item needs 5 ratings before it is scored at all, and 25 before it is ranked against items from other chains here (the best and worst lists, the category boards). A chain's own table uses every one of its scored items, because that is its whole menu.

The ratings come from paid survey panels of U.S. consumers run continuously since April 2026 (panelists are paid for completing a survey, never for their opinions, and rate only items they report having eaten), from logged-in members, and from anonymous visitors on comparison pages. All three count the same way. The panels are not a representative sample of the country, and the catalogue is each chain's core menu as we list it, not every limited-time item.

A chain's average is the unweighted mean of its scored items, so a chain is not rewarded for one blockbuster item or punished for one that few people order.Full methodology →

Cite this report

ChainReaction, “The 2026 Fast Food Census,” data through Nov 2, 2026, https://chainreactionhq.com/reports/fast-food-census-2026

Use the data

The figures on this page and the CSV are free to reuse — in an article, a chart, a video — with a credit to ChainReaction and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). Every item and chain here links to its own page with the current score and the reviews behind it.

Download data.csv · one row per catalogued item: chain, item, category, CR Score, tier, ratings, positive ratings, star average, URL

Questions, corrections, or a chain you want added: hello@chainreactionhq.com