Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Georgia

Sit-down restaurants in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #234 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia

Listings
16,299
5,266 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
4,920
+6.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$9.8B
On food away from home · $4,257 a household
Spending per listing
$604K
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
70.5
15% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,482,182
+5.9% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area comes to about $9.8B a year: $4,257 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. That is about $604K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 9% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area has 16,299 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 5,266 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 70.5, 15% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area was 4,920 in 2023, up 6.8% from 2019. That is one for every 470 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 1,922 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 379 SBA-backed loans worth $310.5M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area.

Population estimates show the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area grew 5.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #234 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia.

How the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households70.566.061.3
Spending per listing$604K$593K$664K
Households per official establishment470514500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.8%+5.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.9%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,257$3,917$4,070
Median household income$89,724$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score4542

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4,920+6.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
111,102
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.9B
One-person businesses, 2023
1,922Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
16,2995,266 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14,839The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
379
Amount
$310.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
6,482,182+5.9% since 2020
Households
2,313,055
Median age
38.2
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
8,784 sq. mi.
People per square mile
712
Median household income
$89,724
Average household income
$122,540
Median home value
$367,600
Jobs located here
2,999,529
Daytime population
6,397,894Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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

Other business types in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 16,299 sit-down restaurants in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. 5,266 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 4,920 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 6.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,922 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $9.8B a year, or $4,257 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16,299 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $604K 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 2,313,055 households in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area has 70.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $604K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area would have about 14,839, against 16,299 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 470 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area at 6,482,182 people in 2025, up 5.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,313,055 households. Median household income in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area is $89,724, 11% above 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area scores 45 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #234 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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.