There are 2 main differences between people who eat at Chipotle and McDonald's

Flickr/Kieran Clarke

Meanwhile, business is booming for fast casual chains like Chipotle that advertise higher-quality, less processed foods, but at a higher price than McDonald's. Chipotle's same-store sales grew nearly 17% last year, while McDonald's fell 1%.

We looked into the differences between customers at both chains using an online tool from YouGov, and discovered that they differ the most in their professions and interests.

McDonald's customers' niche interests include watching movies at home, sleeping, and "sitting around doing as little as possible." Their typical professions involve the wholesale and retail industries, law, and consumer goods.

YouGov

Meanwhile, Chipotle customers' niche interests involve New York, dancing, sustainability charities, and going to restaurants and cafes. They tend to keep cats as pets, while McDonald's customers prefer fish.

Their top professions are in the travel and hospitality industries, finance, and research development.

YouGov

McDonald's customers also describe themselves as "motherly," "bighearted" and "loving," while Chipotle fans call themselves "imaginative," "outgoing," and "confident."

There is also some overlap between fans of the two brands. For example, customers of both McDonald's and Chipotle tend to be females between the ages of 25 and 39 with discretionary income of at least $155 monthly.

The survey was based on UK customers, so the sample size was much smaller for Chipotle - which has only a couple of UK locations - than for McDonald's.