Approximately how many hamburgers do Americans consume annually?

Approximately how many hamburgers do Americans consume annually? The commonly cited estimate is 50 billion hamburgers.

That figure is an approximation, not a precise government census. It is widely repeated in food-history and industry references and represents burgers eaten in the United States each year, including restaurant, fast-food, and home-prepared hamburgers.

Divided across the U.S. population, 50 billion burgers works out to roughly 150 per person annually—about three per week on average. That does not mean every American eats that many; frequent consumers and children are balanced by people who rarely or never eat beef.

The number also includes more than plain hamburgers. Cheeseburgers and many other sandwiches built around a ground-beef patty are commonly included in broad burger estimates. The hamburger became a defining American food during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with competing origin claims and a major boost from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and later fast-food chains.