Short answer
McDonald's Corporation had over 150,000 employees worldwide at year-end 2025, according to its Form 10-K filed February 24, 2026, about 70% of them outside the US. That count covers corporate offices and the 2,039 restaurants McDonald's owns and operates. The other 43,317 restaurants, about 95% of the 45,356 total, are franchised, and the company says over two million people work in them. They aren't McDonald's employees.
- Over 150,000 company employees at December 31, 2025, about 70% outside the US.
- Over two million more people work in franchised restaurants, which McDonald's doesn't employ.
- The count fell from about 200,000 in 2021 to over 150,000 in 2022, the year company-operated restaurants dropped from 2,736 to 2,106 and McDonald's sold its Russian business.
- Company employees track company-operated restaurants: 2,039 at the end of 2025, or about 4.5% of the system.
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing McDonald's as an account, analysts and anyone who needs a citable figure. Every number comes from McDonald's Corporation's annual report on Form 10-K. Its fiscal year is the calendar year. The key to reading the figures is the franchise model: McDonald's employs the people in its offices and in the restaurants it operates itself, and its franchisees employ everyone else.
McDonald's employees by year
| Year | As of | Company employees | Based outside the US | Company-operated restaurants | Total restaurants | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | over 150,000 | about 70% | 2,039 | 45,356 | 10-K filed February 24, 2026 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | over 150,000 | about 70% | 2,045 | 43,477 | 10-K filed February 25, 2025 |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | over 150,000 | about 70% | 2,142 | 41,822 | 10-K filed February 22, 2024 |
| 2022 | December 31, 2022 | over 150,000 | about 70% | 2,106 | 40,275 | 10-K filed February 24, 2023 |
| 2021 | December 31, 2021 | about 200,000 | over 75% | 2,736 | 40,031 | 10-K filed February 24, 2022 |
| 2020 | December 31, 2020 | about 200,000 | over 75% | 2,677 | 39,198 | 10-K filed February 23, 2021 |
| 2019 | December 31, 2019 | about 205,000 | not stated | 2,636 | 38,695 | 10-K filed February 26, 2020 |
| 2018 | December 31, 2018 | about 210,000 | not stated | 2,770 | 37,855 | 10-K filed February 22, 2019 |
McDonald's rounds coarsely and has used "over 150,000" for four straight years, so small changes don't show. Restaurant counts are from the same 10-Ks (2018 from the 2021 report's five-year table).
What the number includes
The 2025 10-K says: "Company employees, which include those in the Company's corporate and other offices as well as in Company-owned and operated restaurants, totaled over 150,000 worldwide as of year-end 2025, of which approximately 70% were based outside of the U.S. In addition to Company employees, the over two million individuals who work in McDonald's franchised restaurants around the world are critical to the Company's success."
- Company employees: corporate and other office staff, plus crew and managers in company-owned and operated restaurants.
- Not included: anyone employed by a franchisee, developmental licensee or foreign affiliate. That's the "over two million" figure, which McDonald's has given in each 10-K since its 2020 report and doesn't break down further.
- Mostly outside the US. About 70% of company employees are based outside the US, which leaves roughly 45,000 or more in the US (our calculation from rounded figures). Most company-operated sales come from the International Operated Markets segment: $6,131 million in 2025, against $3,115 million in the US.
- No full-time or part-time split is given.
What changed and why
- 2018 to 2021: about 200,000 to 210,000. The count moved with company-operated restaurants, which fell from 2,770 to 2,636 in 2019 and then rose slightly.
- 2022: down to over 150,000. McDonald's temporarily closed its restaurants in Russia in the first quarter of 2022 and sold its Russian business in the second quarter, recording net pre-tax charges of $1,281 million. Company-operated restaurants fell from 2,736 to 2,106 that year. The 10-K doesn't say how many employees went with the Russian business, so the size of each cause is unknown; what's clear is that the count fell by roughly a quarter in the same year.
- 2023: Accelerating the Organization. McDonald's recorded $250 million of restructuring costs for "Accelerating the Organization", its internal effort to modernize ways of working, and says selling, general and administrative expenses fell 2%, "reflecting lower employee costs." The rounded headcount stayed at over 150,000.
Revenue per employee
Total revenues for 2025 were $26,885 million. Divided by 150,000, that's about $179,200 per company employee (our calculation). Because McDonald's says "over 150,000", the true figure is somewhat lower.
The ratio says little about productivity, because most of the revenue comes from restaurants McDonald's doesn't staff:
| 2025 revenue line | Amount | Who staffs the restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues from franchised restaurants | $16,548 million | franchisees |
| Sales by company-owned and operated restaurants | $9,690 million | McDonald's |
| Other revenues | $647 million | not applicable |
| Total revenues | $26,885 million |
Systemwide sales, which include franchisees' sales, were $139.4 billion in 2025. A more useful ratio for operators: company-operated restaurants spent $2,905 million on payroll and employee benefits in 2025, about 30% of their $9,690 million in sales (our calculation).
Selling to a company of McDonald's size
General guidance, not a description of McDonald's internal process.
McDonald's buys at two levels, and most sellers need to know which one they're selling to before they start.
- Corporate sets the platform. The 10-K says McDonald's is "building the easiest and most efficient restaurant operating platform which enables the Company and franchisees to run restaurants more efficiently and utilize the latest cloud-based technology." Restaurant technology, digital ordering, loyalty and supply chain standards are decided centrally and rolled out across the system.
- Franchisees run their own businesses. With about 95% of restaurants franchised, operators employ the crews and buy many local services themselves, within the brand's standards and approved suppliers. Selling to them is closer to selling to a multi-unit small business than to a corporation.
- Market matters. The business is split into the US, International Operated Markets and International Developmental Licensed Markets, and each market has its own leadership.
- Expect a pilot in a market, then a system decision. New tools are usually tested in a set of restaurants before a wider rollout.
For more on the operator side, see our guide to selling to restaurants. For a research routine on large accounts, see how to research an account.
Next step: compare McDonald's with other chains on our list of the largest fast food companies.
Sources
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2026
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 25 February 2025
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 22 February 2024
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2023
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2022
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 23 February 2021
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 26 February 2020
- McDonald's Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, McDonald's Corporation, via SEC EDGAR, 22 February 2019
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many people work at McDonald's in total, including franchises?
More than 2.15 million, by our calculation from McDonald's 10-K: over 150,000 company employees plus the "over two million individuals who work in McDonald's franchised restaurants around the world." Both figures are rounded minimums. Only the first group are McDonald's employees; the rest work for franchisees, developmental licensees and affiliates, which run about 95% of the 45,356 restaurants.
How many employees does McDonald's have in the US?
McDonald's doesn't publish a US count, but its 10-K says about 70% of its over 150,000 company employees were based outside the US at year-end 2025. That leaves roughly 45,000 or more in the US (our calculation from rounded figures), in corporate offices and company-operated restaurants. Workers at US franchised restaurants aren't McDonald's employees and aren't in that number.
Why did McDonald's employee count drop in 2022?
The 10-K count fell from about 200,000 at the end of 2021 to over 150,000 at the end of 2022. In the same year McDonald's sold its Russian business and the number of restaurants it operates itself fell from 2,736 to 2,106. The filing doesn't say how many employees left with the Russian business, so it doesn't attribute the whole drop to the sale.
Are McDonald's crew members employed by McDonald's?
Only in the 2,039 restaurants McDonald's owns and operates (at the end of 2025). In the other 43,317, which are franchised, crew members are employed by the franchisee, developmental licensee or affiliate that runs the restaurant. McDonald's says its Global People Brand Standards on safety, harassment and violence apply to all restaurants, whoever owns them.
When does McDonald's report its employee count?
Once a year, in the People section of its Form 10-K, filed in February. The count is as of December 31. The latest company-reported figure is over 150,000 as of year-end 2025, from the 10-K filed February 24, 2026. Quarterly reports don't update it, and the franchise workforce figure of over two million appears only in the annual report too. The next update is due in February 2027.