The sandwich chain remains the nation’s largest restaurant brand by store count, but its lead has narrowed.
MIAMI — Subway closed a net 729 U.S. restaurants in 2025, bringing its domestic count to 18,773 locations as the sandwich chain continued a decade-long pullback from its former peak.
The decline, disclosed in franchise data released April 30, marks Subway’s steepest U.S. drop since 2021 and its 10th straight year of domestic contraction. The company still has more U.S. restaurants than Starbucks and McDonald’s, but the latest numbers show how sharply its home-market footprint has changed since the chain topped 27,000 domestic stores in 2015.
Subway opened 499 locations during 2025, but closures outpaced new stores, leaving the chain with a large net loss for the year. The company has framed the pullback as part of a plan to improve restaurant quality and franchisee performance rather than simply chase unit growth. “In the U.S., Subway is focused on ensuring restaurants are in the right locations with the real estate, visibility and operations that set franchisees up to succeed long-term,” the company said in a statement. Subway said restaurant evaluation scores and Google review scores have climbed to their highest levels in two years.
The 2025 decline followed a net loss of 631 U.S. restaurants in 2024 and 443 in 2023. The chain has now closed a net 8,345 U.S. restaurants from 2016 through 2025, a total larger than the entire domestic footprint of many major fast-food brands. Subway remains No. 1 in the United States by store count, with Starbucks at 16,860 U.S. shops at the end of fiscal 2025 and McDonald’s at 13,706 restaurants. Still, the gap has tightened as McDonald’s resumes growth and Subway trims older or weaker locations.
The company’s U.S. restaurants are franchised, meaning local operators run stores under the Subway name while paying fees and following brand rules. That model helped Subway expand quickly into strip malls, gas stations, airports, college campuses and Walmart stores. It also left some markets with restaurants close to one another, which could split sales among franchisees. Restaurant industry estimates put the average Subway location at about $500,000 in annual sales, a lower figure than several rival sandwich chains. Subway does not report average unit volume in its franchise disclosure document.
The latest filing also showed roughly 800 locations were temporarily closed as of Dec. 31, 2025, with the company expecting many to reopen. More than half of the stores that opened in 2025 had previously been closed, showing how Subway is moving some restaurants back into operation while still reducing its net count. The filing projects about 100 new U.S. franchised locations in 2026. It does not say how many stores may close this year, leaving the next net change unknown.
The retrenchment comes as Subway tries to compete for price-sensitive diners. On April 28, the company introduced its first national value menu, with 15 entrees under $5 at participating restaurants. The menu includes $3.99 six-inch Deli Faves, $3.99 Protein Pockets and a $4.99 Sub of the Day. Dave Skena, Subway’s chief marketing officer for North America, said the menu shows customers “don’t have to choose between eating well and saving money.” The launch puts Subway deeper into the fast-food value fight at a time when chains are using cheaper meals to protect traffic.
Subway also changed leadership after its sale to Roark Capital. Jonathan Fitzpatrick became chief executive officer on July 28, 2025, after serving as president and CEO of Driven Brands and holding senior roles at Burger King. He became the first CEO hired after Roark completed its purchase of Subway in 2024. The chain’s global business tells a different story from the U.S. market. Subway opened more than 1,000 restaurants worldwide in 2025 and has more than 30 master franchise agreements tied to more than 12,000 future locations.
For now, Subway remains the largest restaurant chain in the United States by number of locations, even after falling below 19,000 domestic stores. Its next milestone will come with the 2026 store count, when the company’s new openings and any additional closures show whether the U.S. pullback is slowing or continuing.
Author note: Last updated May 8, 2026.