An analysis of KFC finds that at least 312 of its U.S. restaurants have permanently closed between July 15, 2025, and July 6, 2026, a 7.64% reduction in the size of the chain's American footprint.
The closures are not spread evenly. Kansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee have each lost more than an eighth of their KFC locations, while Utah, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire have not lost a single restaurant.
Local Falcon, a local AI search visibility platform, compared KFC's public store locator at the start and end of the period. Each restaurant listing that had been removed and returned a 404 error was then independently verified against Google Maps.
Key findings:
- 312 KFC restaurants have permanently closed across the United States in the past year, a 7.64% cut to the chain's footprint.
- California lost the most restaurants in absolute terms, with 44 permanent closures, followed by Texas at 34 and Ohio at 18.
- Among the 38 states with at least 20 KFC locations at the start of the period, Kansas saw the steepest percentage decline, losing 21.1% of its restaurants.
- San Antonio is the hardest-hit city in the country, with 7 permanent closures, more than any other. Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and Memphis follow with 4 apiece.
- Utah, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire have not lost a single KFC restaurant in the past year.
The National Picture
KFC's public store locator listed over 4,000 active U.S. locations on July 15, 2025. By July 6, 2026, 312 of those had been permanently closed. That works out to roughly six restaurants a week over the 356-day period. California and Texas absorbed the heaviest losses. Between them, the two states account for 78 of the 312 closures, a quarter of the national total.
States With the Most Restaurant Closures
California, the state with KFC's largest footprint, lost the most restaurants in raw numbers. 44 California locations closed permanently over the year. Texas came next with 34 closures, followed by Ohio with 18.
Tennessee lost 17 restaurants, while Illinois and Indiana each shed 13. Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina round out the top ten with 11 apiece.
| Rank | State | Permanent Closures |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 44 |
| 2 | Texas | 34 |
| 3 | Ohio | 18 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 17 |
| 5 | Illinois | 13 |
| 6 | Indiana | 13 |
| 7 | Alabama | 11 |
| 8 | Florida | 11 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 11 |
| 10 | Washington | 9 |
States With the Steepest Percentage Decline
Among states with at least 20 KFC locations at the start of the period, Kansas saw the largest share of its footprint disappear. The state lost 21.1% of its KFC restaurants. Eight permanent closures brought its count from 38 to 30.
Louisiana followed at 16.1% (31 down to 26), Alabama at 13.4% (82 down to 71), and Tennessee at 13.3% (128 down to 111). Oregon, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Washington all lost more than a tenth of their locations.
| Rank | State | % Footprint Lost | Stores at Start | Permanent Closures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 21.1% | 38 | 8 |
| 2 | Louisiana | 16.1% | 31 | 5 |
| 3 | Alabama | 13.4% | 82 | 11 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 13.3% | 128 | 17 |
| 5 | Oregon | 12.0% | 50 | 6 |
| 6 | Indiana | 11.9% | 109 | 13 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 11.9% | 59 | 7 |
| 8 | Washington | 11.2% | 80 | 9 |
| 9 | Texas | 10.7% | 319 | 34 |
| 10 | Illinois | 10.6% | 123 | 13 |
Below that 20-store cutoff, the percentages turn sharper. Delaware is the most extreme outlier, losing 4 of its 13 KFC locations, a 30.8% decline. Vermont shed 2 of its 7 restaurants (28.6%) and Alaska 2 of its 8 (25%).
Cities With the Most Restaurant Closures
The closures are dispersed rather than concentrated.
In all, 278 cities lost a KFC, but just 257 of them lost only one. San Antonio is the sharp exception. The Texas city lost seven KFC locations over the year, more than any other city in the country, and more than 35 entire states recorded on their own.
Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and Memphis are the next hardest hit, with four closures each. San Diego and Houston follow with three. A further fifteen cities, among them Nashville, Sacramento, Louisville, and Columbus, lost two restaurants apiece.
| Rank | City | State | Permanent Closures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Antonio | TX | 7 |
| 2 | Indianapolis | IN | 4 |
| 3 | Las Vegas | NV | 4 |
| 4 | Memphis | TN | 4 |
| 5 | San Diego | CA | 3 |
| 6 | Houston | TX | 3 |
States That Did Not Lose a Single Restaurant
Three states with an established KFC presence came through the year untouched. Utah (40 restaurants), Rhode Island (17), and New Hampshire (13) have recorded zero permanent closures since July 15, 2025. Four smaller markets also held steady: North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia, each with fewer than ten locations.
KFC Is the Lowest-Rated of the Major Chicken Chains
Local Falcon also compared the Google ratings of KFC's U.S. locations against those of the other major national chicken chains.
KFC averages 3.42 stars across 2,885 rated U.S. locations. Popeyes and Wingstop are ahead, at 3.47 and 3.48. The distance to the top is what stands out: Chick-fil-A leads at 4.30 and Raising Cane's at 4.29, nearly a full star above KFC.
| Rank | Brand | Locations Rated | Avg Google Rating | Avg Reviews per Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chick-fil-A | 3,306 | 4.30 | 1,685 |
| 2 | Raising Cane's | 933 | 4.29 | 1,189 |
| 3 | Zaxby's | 999 | 3.94 | 778 |
| 4 | Bojangles | 906 | 3.70 | 855 |
| 5 | Church's Chicken | 723 | 3.59 | 747 |
| 6 | Wingstop | 2,392 | 3.48 | 333 |
| 7 | Popeyes | 2,929 | 3.47 | 910 |
| 8 | KFC | 2,885 | 3.42 | 556 |
Across the ten states where KFC closed the most restaurants, it trails Chick-fil-A in every one by an average of 0.87 stars. The gap is widest in Washington and in Texas, KFC's largest closure state, where Chick-fil-A outrates KFC by nearly a full star.
| Rank | State | Permanent Closures | KFC Avg | Chick-fil-A Avg | Gap vs Chick-fil-A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 44 | 3.57 | 4.29 | -0.72 |
| 2 | Texas | 34 | 3.35 | 4.30 | -0.95 |
| 3 | Ohio | 18 | 3.44 | 4.34 | -0.90 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 17 | 3.46 | 4.35 | -0.89 |
| 5 | Illinois | 13 | 3.40 | 4.21 | -0.81 |
| 6 | Indiana | 13 | 3.41 | 4.34 | -0.93 |
| 7 | Alabama | 11 | 3.51 | 4.27 | -0.76 |
| 8 | Florida | 11 | 3.47 | 4.33 | -0.86 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 11 | 3.45 | 4.32 | -0.87 |
| 10 | Washington | 9 | 3.32 | 4.30 | -0.98 |
Review volume follows the same order. KFC locations average 556 Google reviews each, less than a third of Chick-fil-A's 1,685 and behind Raising Cane's 1,189 and Popeyes' 910. Among the eight chains, only Wingstop draws fewer.
Methodology
Local Falcon compared KFC's official store directory on July 15, 2025, and July 6, 2026, drawing the earlier snapshot from the Wayback Machine and the later one directly from KFC's live store locator. After removing 11 duplicate listings, 325 store URLs present at the start of the period had been removed by the end.
Each removed URL was checked for a 404 error and cross-verified against Google Maps, the live sitemap, and archived store pages. A location was counted as permanently closed only if its URL returned a 404, rather than redirecting to a live page, and it was no longer operating as a KFC, yielding the final figure of 312 confirmed permanent closures. Listings whose URLs had only changed and restaurants that Google still shows as open were excluded. This count reflects Google Maps' permanent-closure designation and may not capture relocations or restaurants closed but not yet reclassified.
Percentage-decline rankings are limited to states with at least 20 KFC locations at the start of the period, to avoid distortion from very small footprints.
Customer ratings draw on Local Falcon's database of U.S. business locations, which aggregates Google Business Profile data, including star ratings and review counts. Locations were identified as U.S. restaurants by a valid state and ZIP code in the listing address, which excludes international locations and non-storefront entries such as corporate offices and franchise headquarters. Only rated locations with at least one review were counted. National brand averages were calculated across all rated U.S. locations per brand; state averages cover only locations within the named state.
