Take a look at your surroundings, and it seems that no matter where you are, you will find the golden arches glowing in the distance. With nearly 13,000 McDonald's restaurants spread across the United States, there's often at least one within a stone's throw away. However, as much as we think of McDonald's as an all-consuming American empire, you might be surprised to learn that there are more golf courses across the country than McDonald's locations.
There are more golf courses than McDonald's restaurants in the United States
Since golf courses take up so much space, it's hard to believe they could outnumber our Big Mac providers. In an article about discontinued courses published last month, New York times books There are an estimated 16,000 golf courses in the United States, a number that easily exceeds all 13,000 McDonald's locations.
This statistic caught the attention of Nathan Yao, of data visualization site FlowingData, who… Collect some maps Details of McDonald's store distribution across golf courses across the country. Yao also provides some analysis and key takeaways on how to achieve this.
Now McDonald's locations are clustered in cities
Population density is a big factor in determining location McDonald's locations We are I openedMany McDonald's locations are naturally concentrated in major cities and metropolitan areas.
According to FlowingData's maps, the area of the country with the highest density of McDonald's locations is East Los Angeles, which has 110 locations within a 10-mile radius; Yao attributes this to the fact that McDonald's originated in Southern California. Second place is the area just outside Chicago, which has 88 locations. Fun fact: McDonald's is headquartered in Chicago and was previously located in the suburbs, so the high concentration of restaurants here also makes sense.
Golf courses are evenly spread throughout the country
The presence of golf courses around cities is still fairly high, according to the British Daily Mail to the FlowingData mapBut there is a notable difference in their location compared to how fast food chains distribute. Many courses are evenly spread across the United States, and it's not just because golf requires a lot of space — it's because these facilities can afford to sit outside of densely populated areas.
“You can have a golf course in an area where there aren't a lot of people, because people will travel to play golf,” Yao writes. “Few people will travel specifically for McDonald's.” Where one is a destination, the other is there to meet people where they are.
Aside from a few exciting rounds of putts, I've never really played golf. However, she had more fun than I did A fair share of McDonald's. If I ever decide to click on the links to work on my swing, it looks like I have a lot of options.
