Food and drink · Metro area · West Virginia
Restaurants and cafes in the Charleston, WV metro area
How the Charleston, WV 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 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #289 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia
- Listings
- 782
- 378 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 361
- +0.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $290.8M
- On food away from home · $3,329 a household
- Spending per listing
- $372K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 89.5
- 18% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 200,170
- −4.7% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Charleston 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 Charleston 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 Charleston metro area comes to about $290.8M a year: $3,329 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Spread across 782 restaurants and cafes, that is $372K per restaurant, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 782 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Charleston metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 48% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 89.5, 18% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Charleston metro area was 361 in 2023, up 0.6% from 2019. That is one for every 242 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 39 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $1.9M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Charleston metro area.
Population estimates show the Charleston metro area declined 4.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Charleston metro area is 35 (lower middle), #289 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia.
How the Charleston metro area compares
The same measures for West Virginia 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 | Charleston metro area | West Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 89.5 | 87.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $372K | $384K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 242 | 259 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +0.6% | +3.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,329 | $3,343 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $60,117 | $59,608 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 361+0.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 7,266
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $148M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 39Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 782378 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 784The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $1.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Charleston 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 Charleston metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 200,170−4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 87,358
- Median age
- 43.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 1,746 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 118
- Median household income
- $60,117
- Average household income
- $81,990
- Median home value
- $141,100
- Jobs located here
- 110,278
- Daytime population
- 231,110Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Charleston 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 Charleston 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 West Virginia
Every West Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in West Virginia for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charleston metro area marked.
Top metro areas in West Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV | 80 | 1,043 | 88.3 | $434K | +7.1% | #15 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 71 | 25,241 | 106.4 | $483K | +3.3% | #50 of 387 |
| Winchester, VA-WV | 63 | 575 | 103.6 | $392K | +6.5% | #110 of 387 |
| 1Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 52 | 1,196 | 78.6 | $427K | −2.6% | #175 of 387 |
| 2Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH | 41 | 433 | 87.2 | $378K | −3.6% | #249 of 387 |
| 3Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 39 | 303 | 80.0 | $409K | −2.3% | #262 of 387 |
| 4Charleston, WV | 35 | 782 | 89.5 | $372K | −4.7% | #289 of 387 |
| 5Beckley, WV | 32 | 411 | 91.4 | $337K | −4.3% | #320 of 387 |
| 6Wheeling, WV-OH | 28 | 557 | 96.0 | $348K | −3.6% | #341 of 387 |
| 7Morgantown, WV | 26 | 652 | 113.5 | $318K | +1.3% | #349 of 387 |
Other business types in the Charleston metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes35
- Sit-down restaurants32
- Fast food and sandwich shops13
- Pizza12
- Coffee shops and cafes55
- Bakeries and dessert shops45
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 Charleston, WV metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 782 restaurants and cafes in the Charleston metro area. 378 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 361 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 0.6% from 2019. Official counts list 39 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Charleston, WV metro area spend on food away from home?
About $290.8M a year, or $3,329 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 782 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $372K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 87,358 households in the Charleston metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Charleston, WV metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Charleston metro area has 89.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $372K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Charleston metro area would have about 784, against 782 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 242 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 0.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Charleston, WV metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Charleston metro area at 200,170 people in 2025, down 4.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 87,358 households. Median household income in the Charleston metro area is $60,117, 26% 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 Charleston metro area scores 35 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #289 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 Charleston 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 Charleston metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charleston 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 Charleston 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.