The State With The Most Olive Garden Restaurants In The US

There's never really a bad time to go to Olive Garden, whether you're dressed in your Sunday best or keeping it casual in jeans and a tee. Maybe it's the promise of those succulent, lightly salted breadsticks that drew you in, or maybe you're looking forward to the little chocolate mints the servers bring out with the check. Either way, you can expect the option of a never-ending pasta dish and a colorful drink menu in an Italian-inspired atmosphere every time.  

Even though California has the largest population in the U.S., and even though Alaska is the largest state by geographical landmass, it's the great state of Texas that boasts the most Olive Garden locations in the country. According to research from ScrapeHero, out of the 929 Olive Garden restaurants nationwide, 113 are located in the Lone Star state, spanning from the top of Amarillo to the bottom of Brownsville. This means that there's one restaurant for every 256,602 people in the state — which means they need a lot of breadsticks! Wherever you are in Texas, there's a heaping of that Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup waiting for you around every corner. 

There are so many Olive Gardens in Texas that the state accounts for 12% of all restaurants in the continental U.S. California is the runner-up, which makes sense given its population reached over 38 million in 2024, with 79 restaurants down the coast. Despite being the birthplace of the Olive Garden brand, Florida only comes in third place for the most restaurants, with 77 locations. If you live in Houston, Texas, you've got the most Olive Garden restaurant locations of any city in the U.S., with 12 options to choose from. San Antonio residents are a close second, with 11 restaurants to explore. 

Although all 50 states have at least one Olive Garden, you won't find any of the restaurants in certain U.S. territories such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa. You also won't see any Olive Gardens in the U.S. capitol (sorry to our Washington D.C. friends), but thankfully it's a quick drive to locations nearby in Falls Church, Capitol Heights, or Hyattsville. The Italian-American chain seems to continue opening new locations across the country, with more recent openings in states like Arizona and Georgia. Will another state rise to take Texas' place as the state with the most Olive Garden restaurants? We'll have to wait, order a few more baskets of breadsticks, and see.