As of September 2023, when the most recent data was available, New Jersey was home to 698 fast-food restaurants. If that doesn’t sound all that impressive, you’re right. California, which leads the league, is home to 37,926 quick-service restaurants. Texas hosts 27,533, and next-door neighbor New York, with nary a thought to making New Jersey feel inadequate, boasts 20,323. New Jersey and Vermont, actually, have the fewest QSRs in the country, with a paltry 57 nestled in leaf-peeping country.

Here’s a strange factoid: 287 of the Garden State’s fast-food emporia have been awarded five stars, while 374 have four stars. The odd thing about these rankings, and this in no way is meant to deprecate QSRs in-state or beyond, is that star ratings are more often awarded by Michelin rather than bestowed on Mickey D’s. But the fast-food star system doesn’t measure food quality but customer experience. The service may have been fast and friendly but the fries not salty enough could still translate into four stars.