> these have all been in cities, except for the ones on a military base. but
> i don't remember syracuse's west side (17th poorest neighborhood in the
> u.s., then) dickmonald's being such a shithole.
Never been to Syracuse, so I can't say, but 20-30 years ago I was greatly impressed by the difference between urban and suburban McWhatevers. The suburban ones were thicker on the ground, for one thing, and so you had a choice which one to go to. Also, white-collar people went to McWhatsits in suburbia, and in the city they wouldn't be caught dead.
But if your sample is all urban, and the trend is still down... maybe they're becoming increasingly the last resort?