Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Alabama

Sit-down restaurants in the Troy, AL area

How the Troy, AL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #334 of 538 scored small-town markets
#11 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama

Listings
80
29 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
13
−43.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$38.5M
On food away from home · $3,087 a household
Spending per listing
$482K
27% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
64.1
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
33,688
+2.4% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Troy area

The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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 Troy area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 80 sit-down restaurants in the Troy area. Of those, 29 are chain locations, or 36%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 64.1, 5% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Households in the Troy area spend about $38.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,087 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. That is about $482K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 27% below the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in the Troy area classed as full-service restaurants, down 43.5% from 2019. That is one for every 960 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $490K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Troy area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Troy area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Troy area has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #334 of 538 scored small-town markets and #11 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama.

How the Troy area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the sit-down restaurants counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Sit-down restaurants in Troy, AL area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureTroy areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households64.153.161.3
Spending per listing$482K$663K$664K
Households per official establishment960721500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−43.5%−2.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.4%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,087$3,519$4,070
Median household income$48,677$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4452

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13−43.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
297
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8029 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
58The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$490K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Troy 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 Troy area

Population, 2025 estimate
33,688+2.4% since 2020
Households
12,484
Median age
35.5
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
672 sq. mi.
People per square mile
49
Median household income
$48,677+30.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,387
Median home value
$157,600
Jobs located here
15,417
Daytime population
34,472Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Troy 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 sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Troy area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Sit-down restaurants across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Alabama for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Troy area marked.

Top small-town markets in Alabama

Small-town markets in Alabama ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Cullman, AL7914340.5$846K+6.7%#23 of 538
2Scottsboro, AL698539.0$799K+3.3%#81 of 538
3Talladega-Sylacauga, AL6813134.4$919K0.0%#86 of 538
4Ozark, AL637940.0$789K+1.3%#133 of 538
5Russellville, AL604739.3$781K+1.1%#164 of 538
6Enterprise, AL6010851.5$693K+6.3%#168 of 538
7Selma, AL554830.1$872K−7.9%#211 of 538
8Fort Payne, AL5411945.5$662K+3.4%#225 of 538
9Albertville, AL5420556.2$616K+6.0%#228 of 538
10Alexander City, AL517745.1$718K−0.8%#254 of 538
11Troy, AL448064.1$482K+2.4%#334 of 538

Other business types in the Troy area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Troy, AL area?

The Troy area has 80 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 29 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 43.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Troy, AL area spend on food away from home?

About $38.5M a year, or $3,087 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 80 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $482K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,484 households in the Troy area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Troy, AL area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Troy area has 64.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $482K, 27% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Troy area would have about 58, against 80 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 960 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 43.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Troy, AL area growing?

Population estimates put the Troy area at 33,688 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,484 households. The median household income in the Troy area is $48,677 a year, 40% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 30.0% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

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 Troy area scores 44 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #334 of 538 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Troy area. 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.

How the score works · Top markets for sit-down restaurants · All 56 business types in the Troy area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Troy 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 Troy 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.