Subway drops below 20,000 US stores for the first time in 20 years as closures outpace growth

• The number of Subway's US locations fell below 20,000. The chain closed 631 stores in 2024 alone.
• Subway's decline follows years of overexpansion and legal issues affecting its brand.
• Despite US closures, Subway's international locations have grown for two consecutive years.

For the first time in 20 years, the number of Subway's domestic locations dipped below 20,000, according to newly released franchise disclosure documents. In 2024 alone, the company shuttered 631 restaurants across the US, leaving it with 19,502 stores nationwide.

Subway still holds the title of the largest restaurant chain in the country by unit count.

Subway did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, but in a statement to CNN, Subway said it is evaluating its US footprint "using a strategic, data-driven approach to ensure restaurants are in the right location, image and format and operated by the right franchisees."

The company told CNN that it is both opening new restaurants and "relocating or closing locations as needed" to maintain a consistent guest experience.

The newest wave of Subway closures follows a decline from its peak at 27,000 locations in 2015 and a series of legal troubles.

Subway's image took a major blow in 2015 when Jared Fogle, the brand's longtime spokesperson, pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving minors and was sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison.

Subway's rapid expansion also started to backfire in 2016 when the company prioritized quantity, flooding markets with stores and often placing franchises within blocks of each other, which led to internal competition, according to franchisees who previously spoke to BI.

In 2021, a class-action lawsuit alleged that Subway's tuna was not made of actual tuna. In 2023, the case was dismissed.

Despite its decline in the US, Subway's number of international locations has now seen net growth for the second consecutive year.