Classic fried chicken chain has shuttered over 300 locations in the US — with the most closures in California

They’re flying the coop.

Classic American fried chicken chain KFC has permanently closed a total of 44 restaurants across California from July 2025 to July 2026, according to a new analysis from search visibility platform Local Falcon. The chain closed 312 restaurants nationwide in the same period, representing a 7.6% loss in the chain’s national footprint.

To discover which locations were inactive, Local Falcon compared the numbers from the chain’s public store locator on its website from July 2025 to July 2026. Each location that produced a 404 error was cross-verified against Google Maps to confirm it was permanently closed.

As of Wednesday, the KFC website lists 376 locations in California, the most of any state. Texas follows with 287 locations, with Florida trailing closely behind with 268.

The analysis revealed that California lost the most locations in the period between July 2025 and July 2016, followed by Texas, which lost 34 locations, and Ohio, which lost 18.

Kansas lost the largest percentage of its locations, with 8 of its 38 locations permanently closing.

Despite the closures, KFC’s parent company Yum! Brands reported a unit growth of 7% in its second-quarter results report released in July. The chain opened  660 new restaurants across 55 countries in the first quarter of the year.

The analysis also found that KFC is the lowest rated among the country’s major chicken chains. In an analysis of Google ratings, Local Falcon found that KFC averages a rating of 3.42 stars across its 2,885 rated locations in the U.S.

Chick-fil-A topped the list of best-rated chains with an average rating of 4.30 stars across 3,306 locations, followed closely by Raising Cane’s, which had an average rating of 4.29 stars.

In July, the chain announced that it would be bringing back its beloved popcorn chicken nuggets. The fan favorite item originally debuted in the 90s, before being discontinued in 2023. The coveted treats are available now for a limited time only.

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