Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Georgia

Sit-down restaurants in Clay County, GA

How Clay County, GA compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
7
1 chain location (14%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$3.7M
On food away from home · $3,012 a household
Spending per listing
$530K
20% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
56.9
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,815
−0.5% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Clay County

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 Clay County. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 7 sit-down restaurants in Clay County. One of them (14%) is a chain location, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 56.9, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Clay County comes to about $3.7M a year: $3,012 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. That works out to $530K per restaurant, 20% 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.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Clay County: counts under 3 aren’t published.

Population estimates show Clay County declined 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Clay County 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 Clay County, GA compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureClay CountyGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households56.966.061.3
Spending per listing$530K$593K$664K
Households per official establishmentn/a514500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.5%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,012$3,917$4,070
Median household income$49,147$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored42

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
71 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Clay County, 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 Clay County

Population, 2025 estimate
2,815−0.5% since 2020
Households
1,231
Median age
45.5
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
195 sq. mi.
People per square mile
15
Median household income
$49,147
Average household income
$69,560
Median home value
$94,400
Jobs located here
621
Daytime population
2,466Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clay County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Clay County. 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 counties in Georgia for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Georgia, with Clay County marked.

Top counties in Georgia

Counties in Georgia ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Effingham County, GA929037.1$1.1M+14.1%#14 of 2,405
2Paulding County, GA9119732.8$1.3M+12.7%#17 of 2,405
3Pike County, GA892334.2$1.2M+10.5%#32 of 2,405
4Lee County, GA882923.6$1.7M+2.9%#35 of 2,405
5Long County, GA851219.5$1.7M+32.6%#59 of 2,405
6Oglethorpe County, GA841731.4$1.2M+10.4%#73 of 2,405
7Jones County, GA832523.2$1.6M+2.8%#81 of 2,405
8Forsyth County, GA8243348.6$1.1M+11.8%#93 of 2,405
9Jasper County, GA822033.5$1M+20.2%#94 of 2,405
10Monroe County, GA805653.1$762K+14.1%#133 of 2,405
Clay County, GANot scored756.9$530K−0.5%

Other business types in Clay County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Clay County, GA?

Clay County has 7 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (14%) is a chain location. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. No official count is published for full-service restaurants in Clay County: counts under 3 are left out.

How much do households in Clay County, GA spend on food away from home?

About $3.7M a year, or $3,012 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $530K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,231 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Clay County, GA compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Clay County has 56.9 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $530K, 20% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Clay County would have about 6, against 7 on map listings.

How fast is Clay County, GA growing?

Population estimates put Clay County at 2,815 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,231 households. The median household income in Clay County is $49,147 a year, 39% 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Clay County. 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 Clay County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay County?

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 Clay County. 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.