Restaurant menu calories by year
At the 46 restaurant chains in the United States that MenuStat recorded in every collection from 2008 to 2018, the median meal item had 420 kcal in 2008 and 370 kcal in 2018. Across every chain recorded, the median was 430 kcal in 2008 (51 chains) and 450 kcal in 2018 (96 chains).
The same 46 chains in every year
Only chains with items in every collection, so a change is not down to chains joining the data.
| Year | Menu items | Meal items | Median (kcal) | Middle half (kcal) | Mean (kcal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 6,249 | 2,353 | 420 | 273–640 | 502 |
| 2010 | 7,064 | 2,531 | 390 | 260–610 | 470 |
| 2012 | 9,712 | 3,055 | 380 | 260–570 | 475 |
| 2013 | 11,722 | 3,237 | 400 | 260–610 | 488 |
| 2014 | 11,803 | 2,942 | 390 | 260–600 | 477 |
| 2015 | 12,307 | 3,166 | 410 | 270–630 | 500 |
| 2017 | 14,688 | 3,292 | 380 | 240–630 | 491 |
| 2018 | 10,504 | 3,446 | 370 | 240–610 | 478 |
Every chain recorded that year
MenuStat added chains over time: 51 have items in 2008 and 96 in 2018.
| Year | Chains | Menu items | Meal items | Median (kcal) | Middle half (kcal) | Mean (kcal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 51 | 6,801 | 2,534 | 430 | 280–660 | 521 |
| 2010 | 47 | 7,135 | 2,577 | 390 | 260–610 | 475 |
| 2012 | 64 | 13,465 | 4,780 | 450 | 290–710 | 547 |
| 2013 | 76 | 19,839 | 6,092 | 460 | 290–714 | 550 |
| 2014 | 81 | 19,507 | 5,789 | 450 | 290–700 | 544 |
| 2015 | 87 | 21,106 | 6,565 | 480 | 290–760 | 581 |
| 2017 | 93 | 24,834 | 7,095 | 430 | 260–720 | 549 |
| 2018 | 96 | 22,684 | 7,419 | 450 | 270–740 | 570 |
Median meal calories by chain, 2008 and 2018
The 42 chains with at least 8 meal items in both years, largest rise first.
| Chain | 2008 (kcal) | Meal items, 2008 | 2018 (kcal) | Meal items, 2018 | Change (kcal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Charley's | 670 | 91 | 1,030 | 98 | +360 |
| Bob Evans | 510 | 151 | 775 | 220 | +265 |
| El Pollo Loco | 270 | 31 | 510 | 61 | +240 |
| Popeyes | 270 | 21 | 475 | 24 | +205 |
| Zaxby's | 666 | 29 | 820 | 56 | +154 |
| Bojangles | 337 | 17 | 490 | 25 | +153 |
| Chili's | 505 | 36 | 610 | 45 | +105 |
| Whataburger | 545 | 42 | 640 | 107 | +95 |
| Burger King | 420 | 83 | 510 | 71 | +90 |
| McDonald's | 490 | 113 | 570 | 65 | +80 |
| Culver's | 392 | 105 | 465 | 62 | +73 |
| Starbucks | 380 | 9 | 450 | 47 | +70 |
| White Castle | 200 | 29 | 270 | 57 | +70 |
| Church's Chicken | 320 | 15 | 375 | 28 | +55 |
| Denny's | 395 | 34 | 450 | 41 | +55 |
| Arby's | 444 | 68 | 495 | 52 | +52 |
| Little Caesars | 260 | 9 | 310 | 25 | +50 |
| Subway | 400 | 75 | 450 | 61 | +50 |
| Krystal | 300 | 24 | 340 | 35 | +40 |
| Taco Bell | 350 | 71 | 380 | 99 | +30 |
| KFC | 330 | 31 | 350 | 33 | +20 |
| Wendy's | 380 | 45 | 395 | 42 | +15 |
| Dunkin' | 460 | 18 | 465 | 52 | +5 |
| Panera Bread | 390 | 97 | 395 | 74 | +5 |
| Cicis | 186 | 30 | 190 | 27 | +4 |
| Panda Express | 240 | 19 | 240 | 42 | 0 |
| Papa Murphy's | 283 | 90 | 280 | 102 | −3 |
| Hardee's | 560 | 61 | 550 | 78 | −10 |
| Dairy Queen | 600 | 21 | 580 | 73 | −20 |
| Golden Corral | 200 | 58 | 180 | 293 | −20 |
| Jack in the Box | 570 | 51 | 550 | 64 | −20 |
| Papa Johns | 300 | 119 | 270 | 480 | −30 |
| Sonic | 570 | 55 | 540 | 45 | −30 |
| Boston Market | 380 | 33 | 340 | 38 | −40 |
| Long John Silver's | 260 | 14 | 205 | 14 | −55 |
| Chick-fil-A | 360 | 35 | 300 | 24 | −60 |
| Carl's Jr. | 710 | 41 | 640 | 71 | −70 |
| Pizza Hut | 310 | 111 | 220 | 188 | −90 |
| Einstein Bros. Bagels | 590 | 61 | 490 | 79 | −100 |
| P.F. Chang's | 932 | 104 | 830 | 109 | −102 |
| Jason's Deli | 589 | 100 | 470 | 81 | −119 |
| Del Taco | 940 | 91 | 465 | 76 | −475 |
How the figures are worked out
- MenuStat released 8 annual collections: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. There is none for 2009, 2011 or 2016.
- Meal items are the burgers, sandwiches, main dishes, pizzas, salads and soups on a menu. Sides, desserts, drinks and toppings are left out.
- A median moves when a chain lists different items or sizes as well as when it changes a recipe, and the number of items a chain lists varies from year to year. The tables show what the menus listed, not why they changed.
- 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.
Cite this page
Calori (2026). Restaurant menu calories by year: United States, 2008 to 2018. https://www.calori.com/restaurants/us/statistics/calories-by-year. 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.
