The US State With The Most KFC Locations Isn't Kentucky
Global fast-food chicken giant KFC may not rank highly among the best fried chicken chains (Food Republic's taste testers have, in fact, rated it as the worst fast food chain for fried chicken). Nevertheless, with a worldwide presence of 30,000 locations as of March 2024, the colonel's restaurant remains a foremost and iconic brand when it comes to quick-service fried poultry.
The "K" in KFC literally stands for Kentucky (the original name, Kentucky Fried Chicken, was shortened to KFC in 1991). It would be logical to conclude, therefore, that the largest number of KFC locations is likely to be found in the brand's namesake state, which is also where founder Harland Sanders first started selling his famous chicken. That would be an incorrect assumption, though. Believe it or not, Kentucky only boasts 112 branches of the restaurant, and isn't even in the top 10 among the 50 states when it comes to KFC locations. The state with the most branches of the chain is actually California, which houses 435 KFC restaurants as of publication time.
Surprisingly, KFC actually isn't all that popular in Kentucky compared with other fried chicken franchises. According to a 2024 report by Boost Marketing Agency, Bojangles (rated as one of the very best fried chicken chains, according to Reddit users) outranks KFC in popularity in the Bluegrass State.
Just how much Kentucky is there in KFC?
Interestingly, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken-branded restaurant wasn't located in Kentucky. The original franchise was in Salt Lake City, Utah. Harland Sanders, company founder and visual icon of the brand, also wasn't from Kentucky. He was born in Henryville, Indiana.
It's true that the colonel first developed his famous recipe in Kentucky, though. In 1930, Sanders operated a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky, where he lived onsite with his family and ritually cooked them nice meals every Sunday — regularly featuring fried chicken, of course. Travelers stopping off at Sanders' gas station often asked for local restaurant recommendations, and the entrepreneurial colonel saw an opportunity. He expanded Sunday night dinner into a daily offering of downhome meals for travelers and residents. The fame of his exquisite home cooking, especially the fried chicken, quickly spread. In 1935, Kentucky's governor gave Sanders the honorary title of colonel, recognizing his culinary contributions to the state — a title he was known by for the remainder of his days.
In spreading the Kentucky Fried fame and selling his recipe and brand, Colonel Sanders went far afield from Kentucky. The culinary visionary traveled across the United States and even into Canada, striking deals with restaurants to buy his recipe in exchange for royalty payouts. Today, the brand has been distanced even further from the state it's named for. Parent company Yum! Brands announced in February 2025 that it was moving the chain's corporate headquarters from Louisville, Kentucky, to Plano, Texas.