SAN CLEMENTE Calif. Greenville, N.C., was home to the most avid fast-food buyers in the nation during 2006, according to a study by Sandelman & Associates here. The lowest incidence of so-called heavy quick-service restaurant users within the 61 markets surveyed was found in Portland, Maine.
The findings show 59 percent of fast-food users in Greenville patronized a quick-service restaurant 12 or more times a month, or roughly three times a week. Only 27 percent of those in Portland, Maine, had such heavy use.
Three of the Top 10 markets were in the Carolinas, and three were in Texas. The remaining leaders were in the southeast United States and Oklahoma. None were north of the Mason-Dixon line.
QSR users in McAllen, Texas, led the nation in frequency with nearly 25 monthly visits per person on average. That was nearly one fast-food meal per person per day on average. Greenville, N.C., not to be outdone, came in a close second with nearly 24 monthly fast-food occasions per person.
The lowest markets were: Portland, Maine; Anchorage; Boston; Portland, Ore.; and Boise, Idaho, where users had fewer than 13 QSR occasions per month.
During 2006, Quick-Track telephone surveys were conducted in 61 major markets across the U.S. among a total sample of more than 70,000 fast-food users.