Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Georgia

Sit-down restaurants in the Albany, GA metro area

The sit-down restaurants in the Albany, GA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 28 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #354 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia

Listings
323
136 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
83
+10.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$184.8M
On food away from home · $3,203 a household
Spending per listing
$572K
14% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
56.0
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
145,510
−1.8% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Albany 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 Albany metro 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

The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Albany metro area is 28 (lower middle), #354 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 323 sit-down restaurants in the Albany metro area. Of those, 136 are chain locations, or 42%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 56.0 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Households in the Albany metro area spend about $184.8M a year on food away from home, or $3,203 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. Spread across 323 sit-down restaurants, that is $572K per restaurant, 14% 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.

Official counts show 83 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Albany metro area in 2023, up 10.7% from 2019. That is one for every 695 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Albany metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Albany metro area declined 1.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Albany metro area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Albany, GA metro area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureAlbany metro areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households56.066.061.3
Spending per listing$572K$593K$664K
Households per official establishment695514500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.7%+5.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.8%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,203$3,917$4,070
Median household income$56,906$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score2842

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
83+10.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,854
Annual payroll, 2023
$36.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
26Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
323136 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
278The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.1M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
145,510−1.8% since 2020
Households
57,689
Median age
38.8
Homes lived in by their owners
56%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,591 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$56,906+26.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,184
Median home value
$157,300
Jobs located here
56,961
Daytime population
147,829Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Albany 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 Albany metro 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 Georgia

Every Georgia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Georgia for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Georgia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Albany metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Georgia

Metro areas in Georgia ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warner Robins, GA6044259.4$642K+8.2%#114 of 387
2Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC561,22752.9$691K+4.7%#139 of 387
3Gainesville, GA5643459.0$676K+11.4%#140 of 387
4Hinesville, GA5615150.1$651K+12.6%#141 of 387
5Dalton, GA4927753.2$650K+3.5%#202 of 387
6Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA4516,29970.5$604K+5.9%#234 of 387
Chattanooga, TN-GA441,37459.4$630K+5.3%#238 of 387
7Rome, GA4320756.2$626K+2.8%#251 of 387
8Athens-Clarke County, GA3752460.9$595K+3.9%#291 of 387
9Valdosta, GA3433358.6$550K+3.3%#316 of 387
12Albany, GA2832356.0$572K−1.8%#354 of 387

Other business types in the Albany metro area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Albany, GA metro area?

There are 323 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Albany metro area as of September 2026. 136 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 83 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 10.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 26 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Albany, GA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $184.8M a year, or $3,203 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 323 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $572K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 57,689 households in the Albany metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Albany, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Albany metro area has 56.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $572K, 14% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Albany metro area would have about 278, against 323 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 695 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Albany, GA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Albany metro area at 145,510 people in 2025, down 1.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 57,689 households. The median household income in the Albany metro area is $56,906 a year, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.9% 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. 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 Albany metro area scores 28 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #354 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 Albany 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 Albany metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Albany 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 Albany 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.