Food and drink · Metro area · Florida
Sit-down restaurants in the Wildwood-The Villages, FL metro area
The sit-down restaurants in the Wildwood-The Villages, FL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 88 out of 100: High
Ranked #5 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida
- Listings
- 176
- 82 chain locations (47%)
- Official establishments
- 89
- +21.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $263.5M
- On food away from home · $3,747 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.5M
- 2.3 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 25.0
- 59% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 157,772
- +21.1% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Wildwood-The Villages 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 Wildwood-The Villages 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 Wildwood-The Villages metro area scores 88 (high) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #5 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for sit-down restaurants.
As of September 2026, map listings count 176 sit-down restaurants in the Wildwood-The Villages metro area. Chain locations make up 47% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 25.0, 59% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Wildwood-The Villages metro area comes to about $263.5M a year: $3,747 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.5M of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 2.3 times 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.
Official counts show 89 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Wildwood-The Villages metro area in 2023, up 21.9% from 2019. That is one for every 790 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $514K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Wildwood-The Villages metro area. Population estimates show the Wildwood-The Villages metro area grew 21.1% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Wildwood-The Villages metro area compares
The same measures for Florida 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 | Wildwood-The Villages metro area | Florida | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 25.0 | 66.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $1.5M | $582K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 790 | 481 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +21.9% | +7.1% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +21.1% | +8.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,747 | $3,841 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $76,508 | $74,568 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 88 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 89+21.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,955
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $76.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 17682 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 397The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $514K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Wildwood-The Villages 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 Wildwood-The Villages metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 157,772+21.1% since 2020
- Households
- 70,318
- Median age
- 62.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 88%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.5
- Land area
- 557 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 257
- Median household income
- $76,508
- Average household income
- $98,339
- Median home value
- $385,400
- Jobs located here
- 37,385
- Daytime population
- 146,480Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Wildwood-The Villages 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 Wildwood-The Villages 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 Florida
Every Florida market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Florida for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Florida, with the Wildwood-The Villages metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Florida
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 88 | 176 | 25.0 | $1.5M | +21.1% | #5 of 387 |
| 2Homosassa Springs, FL | 75 | 271 | 38.0 | $862K | +11.1% | #27 of 387 |
| 3Punta Gorda, FL | 74 | 404 | 44.6 | $806K | +15.5% | #31 of 387 |
| 4Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 73 | 1,340 | 46.3 | $756K | +19.8% | #35 of 387 |
| 5Sebring, FL | 67 | 192 | 41.0 | $767K | +9.7% | #69 of 387 |
| 6Ocala, FL | 67 | 739 | 44.8 | $740K | +17.3% | #71 of 387 |
| 7Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL | 61 | 1,096 | 54.4 | $699K | +6.5% | #109 of 387 |
| 8Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL | 54 | 370 | 52.2 | $733K | +7.7% | #155 of 387 |
| 9Port St. Lucie, FL | 54 | 1,084 | 52.8 | $719K | +16.0% | #157 of 387 |
| 10Jacksonville, FL | 54 | 3,943 | 59.5 | $667K | +10.7% | #162 of 387 |
Other business types in the Wildwood-The Villages metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes89
- Sit-down restaurants88
- Fast food and sandwich shops87
- Pizza89
- Coffee shops and cafes89
- Bakeries and dessert shops89
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 Wildwood-The Villages, FL metro area?
The Wildwood-The Villages metro area has 176 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 82 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 89 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 21.9% from 2019. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Wildwood-The Villages, FL metro area spend on food away from home?
About $263.5M a year, or $3,747 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 176 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 70,318 households in the Wildwood-The Villages metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Wildwood-The Villages, FL metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Wildwood-The Villages metro area has 25.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.5M, 2.3 times the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Wildwood-The Villages metro area would have about 397, against 176 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 790 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Wildwood-The Villages, FL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Wildwood-The Villages metro area at 157,772 people in 2025, up 21.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 70,318 households. The median household income in the Wildwood-The Villages metro area is $76,508 a year, 5% 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 Wildwood-The Villages metro area scores 88 for sit-down restaurants (high), #5 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 Wildwood-The Villages 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 Wildwood-The Villages metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wildwood-The Villages 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 Wildwood-The Villages 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.