Food and drink · Small-town market · Tennessee
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Cookeville, TN area
How the Cookeville, TN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #294 of 537 scored small-town markets
#9 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee
- Listings
- 84
- 77 chain locations (92%)
- Official establishments
- 110
- All limited-service restaurants · +28.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $189.4M
- On food away from home · $3,227 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.3M
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.3
- 8% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 152,477
- +7.6% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Cookeville area
The site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Cookeville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $3,227 per household (21% below the U.S. average), households in the Cookeville area spend about $189.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $2.3M per shop, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
The Cookeville area has 84 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 77 are chain locations, or 92%, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 14.3, 8% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.
Official counts show 110 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Cookeville area in 2023, up 28.6% from 2019. That is one for every 534 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $800K has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Cookeville area.
Population estimates show the Cookeville area grew 7.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Cookeville area is 48 (lower middle), #294 of 537 scored small-town markets and #9 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee.
How the Cookeville area compares
The same measures for Tennessee and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the fast food and sandwich shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Cookeville area | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.3 | 15.1 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.3M | $2.4M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 534 | 492 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +28.6% | +6.2% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.6% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,227 | $3,670 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $55,380 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 110All limited-service restaurants · +28.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,855
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $49.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 13All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8477 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 62The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $800K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Cookeville area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in the Cookeville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 152,477+7.6% since 2020
- Households
- 58,693
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,520 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 96
- Median household income
- $55,380
- Average household income
- $75,930
- Median home value
- $237,000
- Jobs located here
- 55,382
- Daytime population
- 142,620Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Cookeville area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Cookeville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Tennessee for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Cookeville area marked.
Top small-town markets in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Winchester, TN | 84 | 13 | 7.5 | $4.6M | +6.4% | #12 of 537 |
| 2Fayetteville, TN | 77 | 17 | 11.4 | $3M | +4.3% | #48 of 537 |
| 3Shelbyville, TN | 69 | 26 | 13.3 | $2.6M | +9.7% | #95 of 537 |
| 4Lewisburg, TN | 69 | 19 | 13.9 | $2.6M | +10.5% | #96 of 537 |
| 5Crossville, TN | 63 | 37 | 13.1 | $2.5M | +8.0% | #155 of 537 |
| 6Newport, TN | 60 | 18 | 11.6 | $2.5M | +5.1% | #181 of 537 |
| 7Athens, TN | 60 | 37 | 14.0 | $2.4M | +8.2% | #182 of 537 |
| 8McMinnville, TN | 58 | 20 | 12.3 | $2.5M | +6.5% | #204 of 537 |
| 9Cookeville, TN | 48 | 84 | 14.3 | $2.3M | +7.6% | #294 of 537 |
| 10Union City, TN | 47 | 15 | 12.0 | $2.6M | −2.3% | #299 of 537 |
Other business types in the Cookeville area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes50
- Sit-down restaurants52
- Fast food and sandwich shops48
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes48
- Bakeries and dessert shops42
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Cookeville, TN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 84 fast food and sandwich shops in the Cookeville area. 77 of them (92%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 110 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 28.6% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 13 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Cookeville, TN area spend on food away from home?
About $189.4M a year, or $3,227 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 84 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 58,693 households in the Cookeville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Cookeville, TN area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Cookeville area has 14.3 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.3M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Cookeville area would have about 62, against 84 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 534 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 28.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Cookeville, TN area growing?
Population estimates put the Cookeville area at 152,477 people in 2025, up 7.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 58,693 households. Median household income in the Cookeville area is $55,380, 31% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Cookeville area scores 48 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #294 of 537 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Cookeville area. It maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for fast food and sandwich shops · All 56 business types in the Cookeville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cookeville area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Cookeville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.