Market rankings · Food and drink
Top markets for sit-down restaurants
Every U.S. metro area, small-town market and county, ranked by the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants. The score weighs household spending per restaurant, households per business, population growth and spending power.
- Listings in the U.S.
- 792,466
- 226,060 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 258,626
- +1.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $525.9B
- On food away from home
- Listings per 10k households
- 61.3
- Spending per listing: $664K
A site report maps the sit-down restaurants on map listings around the address by name and distance, and the spending within reach.
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
There are 792,466 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the U.S. as of September 2026. 226,060 of them (29%) are chain locations. That is 61.3 per 10,000 households.
Household spending on food away from home in the U.S. comes to about $525.9B a year: $4,070 per household. Spread across 792,466 sit-down restaurants, that is $664K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
Official counts show 258,626 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the U.S. in 2023, up 1.5% from 2019. They employ 5,387,020 people, with $150.9B in annual payroll. Official counts also show 60,635 one-person businesses without payroll.
The Greeley, CO metro area has the highest market score for sit-down restaurants among 387 scored metro areas, at 94. In the 10 highest-scoring metro areas, the median spending per restaurant is 45% above the U.S. figure, and the median rate of listings per household is 29% below the U.S. rate.
Top markets
These tables (CSV)Ranked by the Groundwork market score, which weighs household spending per competitor, households per business with payroll, population growth and spending power against every other market of the same kind. How the score works.
Top metro areas of 1 million people or more
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 81 | 6,781 | 45.9 | $1M | +2.6% |
| 23Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 77 | 10,522 | 55.6 | $756K | +7.3% |
| 25Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 76 | 1,962 | 44.6 | $919K | +2.8% |
| 28Columbus, OH | 75 | 4,590 | 53.1 | $786K | +4.7% |
| 34Raleigh-Cary, NC | 73 | 3,218 | 56.0 | $804K | +12.6% |
| 38Kansas City, MO-KS | 72 | 4,654 | 52.0 | $803K | +3.4% |
| 50Tucson, AZ | 70 | 2,035 | 46.5 | $801K | +2.8% |
| 57Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 69 | 6,358 | 56.8 | $793K | +0.4% |
| 66Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 67 | 4,626 | 51.0 | $803K | +2.7% |
| 74Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 66 | 15,316 | 64.5 | $796K | +3.3% |
| 80Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 65 | 7,528 | 61.6 | $760K | +4.1% |
| 81Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 65 | 5,831 | 54.2 | $758K | +10.1% |
| 84Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 65 | 6,730 | 68.0 | $669K | +14.0% |
| 92Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 63 | 9,916 | 61.6 | $800K | +3.3% |
| 97Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | 63 | 2,786 | 61.9 | $715K | +3.8% |
Top 50 metro areas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Greeley, CO | 94 | 509 | 41.0 | $1.1M | +14.2% |
| 2Ogden, UT | 92 | 963 | 45.0 | $989K | +5.3% |
| 3Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT | 92 | 1,124 | 54.3 | $826K | +14.5% |
| 4Logan, UT-ID | 90 | 199 | 40.3 | $976K | +8.8% |
| 5Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 88 | 176 | 25.0 | $1.5M | +21.1% |
| 6Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 87 | 568 | 46.4 | $881K | +9.5% |
| 7Bismarck, ND | 86 | 230 | 41.1 | $1M | +4.5% |
| 8York-Hanover, PA | 85 | 770 | 42.4 | $952K | +3.6% |
| 9Fargo, ND-MN | 85 | 510 | 46.2 | $857K | +7.7% |
| 10Boise City, ID | 84 | 1,458 | 47.9 | $856K | +12.2% |
| 11Lexington Park, MD | 83 | 358 | 47.2 | $1.1M | +2.1% |
| 12Lebanon, PA | 81 | 193 | 34.0 | $1.1M | +2.2% |
| 13Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 81 | 6,781 | 45.9 | $1M | +2.6% |
| 14Yuba City, CA | 81 | 258 | 41.7 | $935K | +3.3% |
| 15Midland, MI | 79 | 128 | 36.6 | $1.1M | +0.3% |
| 16Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | 79 | 496 | 41.7 | $1M | +2.8% |
| 17Gettysburg, PA | 78 | 169 | 41.4 | $967K | +3.6% |
| 18Lancaster, PA | 78 | 927 | 43.6 | $950K | +1.9% |
| 19Cheyenne, WY | 78 | 178 | 41.1 | $940K | +2.2% |
| 20Monroe, MI | 77 | 227 | 36.0 | $1.1M | +0.7% |
| 21Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV | 77 | 513 | 43.4 | $882K | +7.1% |
| 22Stockton-Lodi, CA | 77 | 1,321 | 53.9 | $797K | +5.5% |
| 23Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 77 | 10,522 | 55.6 | $756K | +7.3% |
| 24Huntsville, AL | 77 | 1,151 | 55.9 | $737K | +12.5% |
| 25Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 76 | 1,962 | 44.6 | $919K | +2.8% |
| 26Worcester, MA | 76 | 1,656 | 49.3 | $900K | +3.7% |
| 27Homosassa Springs, FL | 75 | 271 | 38.0 | $862K | +11.1% |
| 28Columbus, OH | 75 | 4,590 | 53.1 | $786K | +4.7% |
| 29Grand Junction, CO | 74 | 287 | 43.6 | $859K | +4.4% |
| 30Lincoln, NE | 74 | 674 | 47.8 | $812K | +3.3% |
| 31Punta Gorda, FL | 74 | 404 | 44.6 | $806K | +15.5% |
| 32St. Cloud, MN | 73 | 351 | 44.9 | $866K | +3.0% |
| 33Omaha, NE-IA | 73 | 2,003 | 51.4 | $819K | +4.2% |
| 34Raleigh-Cary, NC | 73 | 3,218 | 56.0 | $804K | +12.6% |
| 35Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 73 | 1,340 | 46.3 | $756K | +19.8% |
| 36Longview-Kelso, WA | 72 | 172 | 39.1 | $965K | +3.5% |
| 37Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 72 | 203 | 43.2 | $822K | +4.8% |
| 38Kansas City, MO-KS | 72 | 4,654 | 52.0 | $803K | +3.4% |
| 39Idaho Falls, ID | 72 | 279 | 50.3 | $774K | +9.8% |
| 40Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 71 | 495 | 45.6 | $1M | +2.7% |
| 41Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 71 | 971 | 40.8 | $950K | +3.5% |
| 42Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | 71 | 1,572 | 45.6 | $834K | +1.5% |
| 43Fort Wayne, IN | 71 | 830 | 45.6 | $822K | +3.9% |
| 44Colorado Springs, CO | 71 | 1,619 | 53.6 | $793K | +3.1% |
| 45Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 71 | 1,610 | 54.6 | $777K | +6.7% |
| 46Rochester, MN | 70 | 421 | 45.3 | $974K | +2.0% |
| 47Helena, MT | 70 | 172 | 44.1 | $902K | +7.7% |
| 48Reading, PA | 70 | 772 | 47.3 | $834K | +2.7% |
| 49Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 70 | 895 | 46.1 | $826K | +1.4% |
| 50Tucson, AZ | 70 | 2,035 | 46.5 | $801K | +2.8% |
Top 25 small-town markets
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brigham City, UT-ID | 96 | 75 | 34.9 | $1.1M | +12.6% |
| 2Blackfoot, ID | 92 | 63 | 39.1 | $967K | +6.4% |
| 3Shelton, WA | 90 | 96 | 36.9 | $1.1M | +7.8% |
| 4Anderson Creek, NC | 89 | 168 | 33.7 | $1.1M | +12.3% |
| 5Mount Vernon, OH | 88 | 82 | 34.9 | $1.1M | +1.9% |
| 6Los Alamos, NM | 86 | 35 | 42.4 | $1.3M | 0.0% |
| 7Faribault-Northfield, MN | 86 | 99 | 42.1 | $969K | +4.2% |
| 8Lewisburg, TN | 85 | 61 | 44.8 | $812K | +10.5% |
| 9Bedford, IN | 84 | 56 | 29.3 | $1.2M | +1.2% |
| 10Austin, MN | 84 | 51 | 32.4 | $1.2M | +2.3% |
| 11Hemlock Farms, PA | 84 | 98 | 40.4 | $987K | +7.2% |
| 12Putnam, CT | 83 | 132 | 33.5 | $1.3M | +3.0% |
| 13Urbana, OH | 83 | 56 | 35.8 | $1M | +0.2% |
| 14Willmar, MN | 82 | 77 | 43.7 | $884K | +2.3% |
| 15Holland, MI | 81 | 168 | 36.9 | $1.1M | +2.1% |
| 16DeRidder, LA | 80 | 42 | 30.6 | $1.2M | +0.2% |
| 17Wooster, OH | 80 | 150 | 33.8 | $1.1M | −0.1% |
| 18Athens, TN | 80 | 89 | 33.6 | $997K | +8.2% |
| 19Bonham, TX | 80 | 64 | 50.1 | $738K | +9.2% |
| 20Jefferson, GA | 80 | 163 | 57.4 | $723K | +29.3% |
| 21Owosso, MI | 79 | 81 | 28.8 | $1.2M | −0.4% |
| 22Kendallville, IN | 79 | 71 | 39.1 | $936K | +1.0% |
| 23Cullman, AL | 79 | 143 | 40.5 | $846K | +6.7% |
| 24Greencastle, IN | 79 | 64 | 45.3 | $833K | +3.2% |
| 25Safford, AZ | 78 | 43 | 33.7 | $1M | +4.0% |
Top 25 counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lincoln County, SD | 97 | 77 | 27.6 | $1.6M | +17.5% |
| 2Morgan County, UT | 96 | 9 | 23.8 | $2.2M | +8.1% |
| 3Elbert County, CO | 95 | 17 | 17.0 | $3.1M | +16.5% |
| 4Spencer County, KY | 95 | 18 | 24.6 | $1.8M | +7.7% |
| 5Union County, OH | 95 | 83 | 34.3 | $1.4M | +16.5% |
| 6Fluvanna County, VA | 94 | 17 | 16.5 | $2.6M | +6.2% |
| 7King George County, VA | 94 | 33 | 32.6 | $1.5M | +10.5% |
| 8Jefferson County, ID | 94 | 28 | 27.5 | $1.4M | +13.6% |
| 9Pinal County, AZ | 93 | 429 | 26.5 | $1.5M | +25.4% |
| 10Sherburne County, MN | 92 | 98 | 27.6 | $1.7M | +6.8% |
| 11Sandoval County, NM | 92 | 160 | 28.1 | $1.4M | +6.9% |
| 12Lincoln County, MO | 92 | 71 | 31.1 | $1.3M | +11.4% |
| 13Camden County, NC | 92 | 13 | 32.4 | $1.2M | +8.8% |
| 14Effingham County, GA | 92 | 90 | 37.1 | $1.1M | +14.1% |
| 15Caroline County, VA | 91 | 30 | 25.0 | $1.6M | +11.3% |
| 16Stafford County, VA | 91 | 212 | 40.5 | $1.3M | +8.3% |
| 17Paulding County, GA | 91 | 197 | 32.8 | $1.3M | +12.7% |
| 18Limestone County, AL | 91 | 141 | 34.4 | $1.2M | +18.0% |
| 19Tooele County, UT | 91 | 95 | 39.7 | $1.1M | +19.2% |
| 20Carver County, MN | 90 | 145 | 35.2 | $1.5M | +6.6% |
| 21Franklin County, ID | 90 | 13 | 26.4 | $1.4M | +11.2% |
| 22Louisa County, VA | 90 | 47 | 30.2 | $1.3M | +13.6% |
| 23Fayette County, TN | 90 | 58 | 33.7 | $1.2M | +7.7% |
| 24Warren County, IA | 90 | 81 | 39.2 | $1.1M | +9.0% |
| 25Goochland County, VA | 89 | 28 | 27.1 | $1.9M | +17.4% |
Scored: 387 metro areas, 538 small-town markets and 2,405 counties, each with at least 5 sit-down restaurants on map listings (counties: 10,000 people or more). Spending per listing is all household spending on food away from home over the listings: demand for each competitor, not revenue. Each market has its own page, reached from its state below.
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Every market in one Excel file
Sit-down restaurants figures for all 387 metro areas, 538 small-town markets, 3,144 counties and 51 states: the Groundwork market score and rank, map listings and chains, household spending, businesses with payroll, employees and payroll, one-person businesses, SBA-backed loans, population, income and home value, each linked to its page. Sorted, filterable and ready to screen.
Sit-down restaurants by state
Every market in each state ranked, with the state’s highest-scoring metro area.
- AlabamaTop metro area: Huntsville metro area · 77
- AlaskaTop metro area: Anchorage metro area · 67
- ArizonaTop metro area: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area · 77
- ArkansasTop metro area: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area · 55
- CaliforniaTop metro area: Yuba City metro area · 81
- ColoradoTop metro area: Greeley metro area · 94
- ConnecticutTop metro area: Waterbury-Shelton metro area · 66
- DelawareTop metro area: Dover metro area · 61
- District of ColumbiaTop metro area: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area · 66
- FloridaTop metro area: Wildwood-The Villages metro area · 88
- GeorgiaTop metro area: Warner Robins metro area · 60
- HawaiiTop metro area: Urban Honolulu metro area · 26
- IdahoTop metro area: Boise City metro area · 84
- IllinoisTop metro area: Bloomington metro area · 63
- IndianaTop metro area: Fort Wayne metro area · 71
- IowaTop metro area: Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area · 71
- KansasTop metro area: Topeka metro area · 62
- KentuckyTop metro area: Bowling Green metro area · 57
- LouisianaTop metro area: Baton Rouge metro area · 50
- MaineTop metro area: Lewiston-Auburn metro area · 72
- MarylandTop metro area: Lexington Park metro area · 83
- MassachusettsTop metro area: Worcester metro area · 76
- MichiganTop metro area: Midland metro area · 79
- MinnesotaTop metro area: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area · 81
- MississippiTop metro area: Jackson metro area · 34
- MissouriTop metro area: Kansas City metro area · 72
- MontanaTop metro area: Helena metro area · 70
- NebraskaTop metro area: Lincoln metro area · 74
- NevadaTop metro area: Reno metro area · 67
- New HampshireTop metro area: Manchester-Nashua metro area · 66
- New JerseyTop metro area: Trenton-Princeton metro area · 44
- New MexicoTop metro area: Las Cruces metro area · 65
- New YorkTop metro area: Syracuse metro area · 57
- North CarolinaTop metro area: Raleigh-Cary metro area · 73
- North DakotaTop metro area: Bismarck metro area · 86
- OhioTop metro area: Columbus metro area · 75
- OklahomaTop metro area: Tulsa metro area · 43
- OregonTop metro area: Albany metro area · 67
- PennsylvaniaTop metro area: York-Hanover metro area · 85
- Rhode IslandTop metro area: Providence-Warwick metro area · 45
- South CarolinaTop metro area: Columbia metro area · 49
- South DakotaTop metro area: Sioux Falls metro area · 87
- TennesseeTop metro area: Knoxville metro area · 68
- TexasTop metro area: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area · 65
- UtahTop metro area: Ogden metro area · 92
- VermontTop metro area: Burlington-South Burlington metro area · 61
- VirginiaTop metro area: Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area · 59
- WashingtonTop metro area: Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater metro area · 79
- West VirginiaTop metro area: Huntington-Ashland metro area · 54
- WisconsinTop metro area: Racine-Mount Pleasant metro area · 69
- WyomingTop metro area: Cheyenne metro area · 78
Related business types
- Restaurants and cafes1,418,317 listings
- Fast food and sandwich shops172,373 listings
- Pizza103,490 listings
- Coffee shops and cafes142,001 listings
- Bakeries and dessert shops126,921 listings
Questions
Which metro areas have the highest market score for sit-down restaurants?
The top 5 are Greeley, CO (94); Ogden, UT (92); Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT (92); Logan, UT-ID (90); and Wildwood-The Villages, FL (88). The score compares each of 387 scored metro areas with the others for sit-down restaurants.
How many sit-down restaurants are in the U.S.?
As of September 2026, map listings count 792,466 sit-down restaurants in the U.S. 226,060 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 258,626 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 1.5% from 2019. Another 60,635 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do U.S. households spend on food away from home?
About $525.9B a year, or $4,070 per household. Spread across the 792,466 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $664K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 129,209,336 households in the U.S. and national spending patterns by income.
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. Markets with fewer than 5 map listings of the type, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address anywhere in the U.S. It maps the sit-down restaurants 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.
All business types and every U.S. market · How we measure
Screening a site or an acquisition?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
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.