Food and drink · Metro area · Colorado
Sit-down restaurants in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #80 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 7 scored metro areas based in Colorado
- Listings
- 7,528
- 2,293 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 2,385
- −2.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $5.7B
- On food away from home · $4,682 a household
- Spending per listing
- $760K
- 14% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 61.6
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 3,092,037
- +4.1% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area comes to about $5.7B a year: $4,682 per household, 15% above the U.S. average. Spread across 7,528 sit-down restaurants, that is $760K per restaurant, 14% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area has 7,528 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 30% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 61.6 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 2,385 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area in 2023, down 2.8% from 2019. That is one for every 512 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 436 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 171 SBA-backed loans worth $113.4M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area has a Groundwork market score of 65 (upper middle): #80 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 7 scored metro areas based in Colorado. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area compares
The same measures for Colorado 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 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 61.6 | 61.8 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $760K | $716K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 512 | 468 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −2.8% | −1.7% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,682 | $4,421 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $105,762 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 59 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 2,385−2.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 55,606
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 436Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7,5282,293 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8,619The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 171
- Amount
- $113.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,092,037+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 1,221,636
- Median age
- 38.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 8,345 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 360
- Median household income
- $105,762+32.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $140,691
- Median home value
- $603,800
- Jobs located here
- 1,626,278
- Daytime population
- 3,090,925Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Colorado
Every Colorado market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Colorado for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Colorado, with the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Greeley, CO | 94 | 509 | 41.0 | $1.1M | +14.2% | #1 of 387 |
| 2Grand Junction, CO | 74 | 287 | 43.6 | $859K | +4.4% | #29 of 387 |
| 3Colorado Springs, CO | 71 | 1,619 | 53.6 | $793K | +3.1% | #44 of 387 |
| 4Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | 68 | 845 | 54.8 | $792K | +4.8% | #59 of 387 |
| 5Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 65 | 7,528 | 61.6 | $760K | +4.1% | #80 of 387 |
| 6Pueblo, CO | 50 | 306 | 44.7 | $780K | +0.6% | #185 of 387 |
| 7Boulder, CO | 32 | 1,051 | 76.7 | $615K | −0.7% | #326 of 387 |
Other business types in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes70
- Sit-down restaurants65
- Fast food and sandwich shops72
- Pizza76
- Coffee shops and cafes56
- Bakeries and dessert shops70
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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 7,528 sit-down restaurants in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area. 2,293 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 2,385 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 2.8% from 2019. Another 436 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area spend on food away from home?
About $5.7B a year, or $4,682 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7,528 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $760K 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 1,221,636 households in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area has 61.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $760K, 14% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area would have about 8,619, against 7,528 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 512 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area at 3,092,037 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,221,636 households. Median household income in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area is $105,762, 31% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.8%, 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area scores 65 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #80 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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.