October 15, 2026, 4:47 p.m. ET
Cold fries, a burger that seems to have extra pickles in it when you didn’t order any, a Coke that has more ice than soda – many McDonald’s fans have experienced that moment of frustration that causes them to call a place the “worst.”
It turns out there’s data to tell fast food fanatics exactly which McDonald’s have been rated the most disappointing in all of America, at least according to customer reviews. SEO Backlinks, a digital company focused on public relations and search engine optimization, crunched the numbers on more than 12,000 sites as of October 5 to determine which were ranking high and low.
Using Google Maps listings of McDonald’s restaurants in the United States, SEO Backlinks narrowed it down to 12,834 locations with 500 or more Google reviews each.
Each restaurant was ranked by its exact average Google rating – a total of 20,466,218 reviews. At the state level, each state’s average rating was calculated by averaging the ratings of all McDonald’s restaurants ranked in that state equally: a restaurant with 500 reviews counted the same as a restaurant with 5,000 reviews when calculating a state’s average rating, for example. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., have at least 23 restaurants in the ranking.
Utah has the lowest-rated McDonald’s restaurants of any state, with its 106 restaurants averaging 3.22 out of 5, which is lower than the average rating of 3.44. Georgia and South Carolina followed with average scores of 3.27 and 3.29.
Hawaii, on the other hand, had the highest-rated McDonald’s locations, with an average of 3.71. New Jersey and Washington followed with 3.64 and 3.62.
Why McDonald’s Locations Were the Best, Worst According to Google Reviews
The place that takes the crown for “best” place, according to the SEO Backlink survey? The McDonald’s on East Main Street in Eagle Pass, Texas, which was the highest rated in the country with an average of 4.25 stars based on 2,159 reviews. The second best was in Calexico, California, and the third highest rated location on the list was the world’s oldest continuously operating McDonald’s on Lakewood Boulevard in Downey, California.
Reviews of the top-rated restaurants mentioned fast service, hot and fresh food, clean restrooms, kid-friendliness, and an ever-elusive working ice machine.
“Good service, easy access and the amount of parking seems adequate. Overall a good experience as the premises are clean,” said a September review of the Eagle Pass store.
The unlucky restaurant that topped the “worst” list is located in Surprise, Arizona, and has an average rating of just 1.55 stars out of 5. Recent reviews complained about slow service, incorrect orders, cleanliness, and food quality.
“This is the worst McDonald’s I have ever been to. The slowest drive thru of any fast food chain I have ever been to is this place. I waited in line for over 30 minutes in the drive thru. I will never come here again. Update: I got home and realized they forgot my Happy Meal, and the food tasted horrible and was overcooked and dry/cold,” one reviewer wrote in late September.
This was followed by locations in Goshen, Indiana, and Auburn, Alabama, with average ratings of 1.99 and 2.27.
Of course, the analysis has limitations. Its collection of locations only included those with a certain number of reviews, relied only on Google reviews and not those from other websites like Yelp, and weighed locations with heavy and light foot traffic equally. Additionally, customers who had an exceptionally good or bad experience might be more likely to write a review than those who had a less remarkable McDonald’s visit.
See the list of the 10 worst and highest rated McDonald’s in America
The 10 worst-rated McDonald’s in America
- 23512 N. 163rd Ave., Surprise, Arizona — 1.55 stars
- 18423 US-20, Goshen, Indiana — 1.99 stars
- 224 W. Magnolia Ave., Auburn, Alabama — 2.27 stars
- 22333 E. 9 Mile Road, St. Clair Shores, Michigan — 2.28 stars
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Detroit, Michigan — 2.33 stars
- 900 Wonder Road, Stafford, Virginia — 2.37 stars
- 1634 Opelika Road, Auburn, Alabama — 2.42 stars
- 306 S. Main St., Brooklyn, Michigan — 2.46 stars
- 4070 S. Midland Drive, Roy, Utah — 2.47 stars
- 249 W. Cumberland Gap Parkway, Corbin, Kentucky — 2.48 stars
The 10 Top-Rated McDonald’s in America
- 2130 East Main St., Eagle Pass, Texas — 4.25 stars
- 720 Imperial Ave., Calexico, California — 4.23 stars
- 10207 Lakewood Blvd., Downey, CA — 4.22 stars
- 176 Columbia Turnpike, Florham Park, New Jersey — 4.20 stars
- 101 S. Expressway, Brownsville, Texas — 4.17 stars
- 8850 Main Road, Mattituck, New York — 4.17 stars
- 2045 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, New York — 4.16 stars
- 1035 W. Randolph St., Chicago, Illinois — 4.15 stars
- 2320 Roll Drive, San Diego, California — 4.15 stars
- 2401 Del Rio Blvd., Eagle Pass, Texas — 4.14 stars
Gn bussni
