Food and drink · Metro area · Georgia
Restaurants and cafes in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area
The restaurants and cafes in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #188 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia
- Listings
- 26,883
- 10,705 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 12,149
- +10.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $9.8B
- On food away from home · $4,257 a household
- Spending per listing
- $366K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 116.2
- 6% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 6,482,182
- +5.9% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area
The site report maps the restaurants and cafes 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area comes to about $9.8B a year: $4,257 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. That works out to $366K per restaurant, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area has 26,883 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 10,705 of them (40%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 116.2, 6% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 12,149 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019. That is one for every 190 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 4,198 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 769 SBA-backed loans worth $508.6M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area.
Population estimates show the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area grew 5.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area is 51 (upper middle), #188 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia.
How the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area compares
The same measures for Georgia and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes 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 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area | Georgia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 116.2 | 109.9 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $366K | $356K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 190 | 203 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +10.0% | +10.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.9% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,257 | $3,917 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $89,724 | $77,353 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12,149+10.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 236,868
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.4B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4,198Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 26,88310,705 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 26,557The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 769
- Amount
- $508.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro 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.
Population and households in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 6,482,182+5.9% since 2020
- Households
- 2,313,055
- Median age
- 38.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 8,784 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 712
- Median household income
- $89,724
- Average household income
- $122,540
- Median home value
- $367,600
- Jobs located here
- 2,999,529
- Daytime population
- 6,397,894Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardRestaurants and cafes across Georgia
Every Georgia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Georgia for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Georgia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Georgia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hinesville, GA | 68 | 239 | 79.2 | $411K | +12.6% | #75 of 387 |
| 2Gainesville, GA | 63 | 744 | 101.2 | $394K | +11.4% | #109 of 387 |
| 3Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 61 | 2,116 | 91.3 | $400K | +4.7% | #123 of 387 |
| 4Warner Robins, GA | 53 | 743 | 99.8 | $382K | +8.2% | #171 of 387 |
| 5Dalton, GA | 51 | 472 | 90.6 | $381K | +3.5% | #187 of 387 |
| 6Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 51 | 26,883 | 116.2 | $366K | +5.9% | #188 of 387 |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | 49 | 2,401 | 103.8 | $361K | +5.3% | #199 of 387 |
| 7Rome, GA | 39 | 370 | 100.4 | $350K | +2.8% | #267 of 387 |
| 8Athens-Clarke County, GA | 37 | 919 | 106.7 | $339K | +3.9% | #283 of 387 |
| 9Savannah, GA | 33 | 2,143 | 132.9 | $290K | +8.1% | #313 of 387 |
Other business types in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes51
- Sit-down restaurants45
- Fast food and sandwich shops52
- Pizza60
- Coffee shops and cafes66
- Bakeries and dessert shops61
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 restaurants and cafes are in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 26,883 restaurants and cafes in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. 10,705 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 12,149 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 4,198 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $9.8B a year, or $4,257 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26,883 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $366K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,313,055 households in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area has 116.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $366K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area would have about 26,557, against 26,883 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 190 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area at 6,482,182 people in 2025, up 5.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,313,055 households. Median household income in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area is $89,724, 11% above 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. 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area scores 51 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #188 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. It maps the restaurants and cafes 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 restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro 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.