Food and drink · Metro area · Tennessee
Restaurants and cafes in the Knoxville, TN metro area
How the Knoxville, TN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #57 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee
- Listings
- 3,420
- 1,553 chain locations (45%)
- Official establishments
- 1,511
- +8.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.4B
- On food away from home · $3,724 a household
- Spending per listing
- $412K
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 90.4
- 18% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 968,137
- +6.9% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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
Households in the Knoxville metro area spend about $1.4B a year on food away from home, or $3,724 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That is about $412K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 11% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 3,420 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Knoxville metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 45% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 90.4 per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 1,511 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Knoxville metro area in 2023, up 8.1% from 2019. That is one for every 250 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 245 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 55 SBA-backed loans worth $31.8M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Knoxville metro area.
Population estimates show the Knoxville metro area grew 6.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Knoxville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #57 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Knoxville metro 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 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 | Knoxville metro area | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 90.4 | 102.9 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $412K | $357K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 250 | 229 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.1% | +9.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.9% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,724 | $3,670 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $72,422 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,511+8.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 36,680
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $793.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 245Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3,4201,553 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3,799The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 55
- Amount
- $31.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Knoxville 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 Knoxville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 968,137+6.9% since 2020
- Households
- 378,234
- Median age
- 41.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 3,501 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 266
- Median household income
- $72,422
- Average household income
- $98,653
- Median home value
- $290,200
- Jobs located here
- 432,193
- Daytime population
- 955,487Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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 Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Tennessee for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Knoxville metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Knoxville, TN | 71 | 3,420 | 90.4 | $412K | +6.9% | #57 of 387 |
| 2Morristown, TN | 60 | 415 | 86.5 | $385K | +7.9% | #131 of 387 |
| 3Cleveland, TN | 59 | 450 | 90.0 | $382K | +6.1% | #138 of 387 |
| 4Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 54 | 1,082 | 82.6 | $399K | +2.3% | #160 of 387 |
| 5Clarksville, TN-KY | 52 | 1,174 | 94.0 | $375K | +8.5% | #180 of 387 |
| 6Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 50 | 9,678 | 116.7 | $353K | +8.7% | #193 of 387 |
| 7Chattanooga, TN-GA | 49 | 2,401 | 103.8 | $361K | +5.3% | #199 of 387 |
| 8Johnson City, TN | 47 | 804 | 90.4 | $365K | +4.3% | #211 of 387 |
| 9Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 35 | 5,489 | 105.0 | $346K | −0.3% | #295 of 387 |
| 10Jackson, TN | 31 | 739 | 102.0 | $325K | +2.2% | #328 of 387 |
Other business types in the Knoxville metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes71
- Sit-down restaurants68
- Fast food and sandwich shops50
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes67
- Bakeries and dessert shops69
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 Knoxville, TN metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 3,420 restaurants and cafes in the Knoxville metro area. 1,553 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 1,511 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 8.1% from 2019. Official counts also show 245 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Knoxville, TN metro area spend on food away from home?
About $1.4B a year, or $3,724 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3,420 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $412K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 378,234 households in the Knoxville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Knoxville, TN metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Knoxville metro area has 90.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $412K, 11% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Knoxville metro area would have about 3,799, against 3,420 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 250 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Knoxville, TN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Knoxville metro area at 968,137 people in 2025, up 6.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 378,234 households. Median household income in the Knoxville metro area is $72,422, 10% 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. 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 Knoxville metro area scores 71 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #57 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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.