Food and drink · Metro area · Arizona
Sit-down restaurants in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area
How the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 77 out of 100: High
Ranked #23 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 7 scored metro areas based in Arizona
- Listings
- 10,522
- 3,685 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 2,902
- +3.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $8B
- On food away from home · $4,202 a household
- Spending per listing
- $756K
- 14% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 55.6
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,228,938
- +7.3% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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
The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area is 77 (high), #23 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 7 scored metro areas based in Arizona. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for sit-down restaurants.
Household spending on food away from home in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area comes to about $8B a year: $4,202 per household, 3% above the U.S. average. That is about $756K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 14% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area has 10,522 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3,685 are chain locations, or 35%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 55.6 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 2,902 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area in 2023, up 3.9% from 2019. That is one for every 652 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 156 SBA-backed loans worth $116.6M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +7.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area compares
The same measures for Arizona 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.
| Measure | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area | Arizona | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 55.6 | 53.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $756K | $747K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 652 | 640 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.9% | +3.3% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.3% | +6.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,202 | $3,982 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $88,301 | $79,964 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 77 | 77 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 2,902+3.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 81,960
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.5B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 764Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10,5223,685 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11,984The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 156
- Amount
- $116.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,228,938+7.3% since 2020
- Households
- 1,892,613
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 14,569 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 345
- Median household income
- $88,301+38.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $118,261
- Median home value
- $440,900
- Jobs located here
- 2,390,924
- Daytime population
- 5,104,371Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSit-down restaurants across Arizona
Every Arizona market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Arizona for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Arizona
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 77 | 10,522 | 55.6 | $756K | +7.3% | #23 of 387 |
| 2Tucson, AZ | 70 | 2,035 | 46.5 | $801K | +2.8% | #50 of 387 |
| 3Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ | 64 | 423 | 41.5 | $793K | +6.5% | #88 of 387 |
| 4Yuma, AZ | 58 | 395 | 49.8 | $673K | +9.2% | #129 of 387 |
| 5Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ | 52 | 549 | 49.4 | $739K | +6.5% | #169 of 387 |
| 6Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ | 40 | 258 | 50.6 | $660K | +0.6% | #276 of 387 |
| 7Flagstaff, AZ | 16 | 453 | 82.2 | $465K | −0.6% | #383 of 387 |
Other business types in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes76
- Sit-down restaurants77
- Fast food and sandwich shops64
- Pizza69
- Coffee shops and cafes58
- Bakeries and dessert shops67
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 sit-down restaurants are in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10,522 sit-down restaurants in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area. 3,685 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 2,902 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 764 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area spend on food away from home?
About $8B a year, or $4,202 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10,522 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $756K 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 1,892,613 households in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area has 55.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $756K, 14% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area would have about 11,984, against 10,522 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 652 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area at 5,228,938 people in 2025, up 7.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,892,613 households. Median household income in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area is $88,301, 9% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 38.2%, 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. 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area scores 77 for sit-down restaurants (high), #23 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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.