Calories by menu section
Burgers had the highest median energy of the 12 menu sections at restaurant chains in the United States in January 2018: 700 kcal an item. Then came main dishes with 580 kcal, sandwiches with 550 kcal and salads with 490 kcal.
Calories by menu section, 2018
Every item the 96 chains listed in January 2018.
| Menu section | Items | Median (kcal) | Middle half (kcal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burgers | 439 | 700 | 460–995 |
| Sandwiches | 2,104 | 550 | 400–760 |
| Main dishes | 2,276 | 580 | 308–950 |
| Pizza | 1,456 | 270 | 210–340 |
| Salads | 634 | 490 | 260–750 |
| Soup | 510 | 250 | 160–370 |
| Starters and sides | 1,636 | 260 | 130–560 |
| Fries and potatoes | 314 | 380 | 250–568 |
| Baked goods | 774 | 290 | 200–380 |
| Desserts | 1,122 | 380 | 220–720 |
| Drinks | 7,192 | 190 | 100–350 |
| Toppings and extras | 4,227 | 80 | 25–160 |
Median calories by menu section, 2008 to 2018
Median kcal an item at the 46 chains with items in every collection, so the set of chains is the same in each column.
| Menu section | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burgers | 612 | 620 | 650 | 630 | 600 | 650 | 680 | 610 |
| Sandwiches | 475 | 470 | 470 | 470 | 470 | 460 | 470 | 490 |
| Main dishes | 493 | 375 | 348 | 460 | 400 | 460 | 460 | 410 |
| Pizza | 290 | 280 | 290 | 285 | 289 | 297 | 270 | 260 |
| Salads | 380 | 389 | 350 | 360 | 410 | 395 | 450 | 480 |
| Soup | 200 | 197 | 205 | 200 | 210 | 220 | 230 | 230 |
| Starters and sides | 200 | 193 | 192 | 207 | 200 | 209 | 240 | 240 |
| Fries and potatoes | 383 | 369 | 380 | 390 | 370 | 370 | 370 | 350 |
| Baked goods | 300 | 280 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 290 |
| Desserts | 350 | 420 | 380 | 420 | 400 | 380 | 405 | 340 |
| Drinks | 240 | 230 | 230 | 240 | 240 | 240 | 250 | 220 |
| Toppings and extras | 70 | 74 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 50 | 50 |
How the figures are worked out
- Menu sections are the food categories MenuStat files each item under, named here as on the chain pages.
- Every figure is per serving as the chain lists it. Pizza is usually listed by the slice and some dishes are listed to share, so chains are compared on what they print, not on a common portion.
- The median is the middle item: half the items have more and half have less. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
- Each size or variant a chain lists is one item. Build-your-own parts and limited-time offers are left out, and so are rows without energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat.
- MenuStat released 8 annual collections: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. There is none for 2009, 2011 or 2016.
Cite this page
Calori (2026). Calories by menu section: United States, 2008 to 2018. https://www.calori.com/restaurants/us/statistics/calories-by-menu-section. Data: MenuStat annual data, 2008 to 2018 (NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene).
The figures are MenuStat’s, which are in the public domain (CC0 1.0); they are free to reuse with a link to this page. The item-level figures are a CSV or JSON download.
Figures are the ones each chain published for the United States menu in January 2018, from MenuStat 2018 annual data (NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene). Carbs exclude fibre, which is listed separately. Menus, recipes and portion sizes change, so check the restaurant’s current menu. Calori is not affiliated with these restaurants; names belong to their owners.
