Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Georgia

Sit-down restaurants in Jefferson County, GA

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 24 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,222 of 2,405 scored counties
#111 of 124 scored counties in Georgia

Listings
33
14 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$17.8M
On food away from home · $3,101 a household
Spending per listing
$540K
19% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
57.4
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
15,011
−4.2% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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

The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in Jefferson County is 24 (low), #2,222 of 2,405 scored counties and #111 of 124 scored counties in Georgia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $3,101 per household (24% below the U.S. average), households in Jefferson County spend about $17.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $540K per restaurant, 19% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Jefferson County has 33 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 42% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 57.4 per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Jefferson County in 2023. That is one for every 639 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Jefferson County from 2020 to 2025 at −4.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, GA compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureJefferson CountyGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households57.466.061.3
Spending per listing$540K$593K$664K
Households per official establishment639514500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.2%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,101$3,917$4,070
Median household income$53,014$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score2442

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9 → 9
Employees, 2023
116
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3314 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
27The 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County

Population, 2025 estimate
15,011−4.2% since 2020
Households
5,751
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
527 sq. mi.
People per square mile
29
Median household income
$53,014+56.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$69,603
Median home value
$105,400
Jobs located here
4,799
Daytime population
14,334Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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
111Jefferson County, GA243357.4$540K−4.2%#2,222 of 2,405

Other business types in Jefferson County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 33 sit-down restaurants in Jefferson County. 14 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $17.8M a year, or $3,101 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $540K 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 5,751 households in Jefferson County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Jefferson County has 57.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $540K, 19% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Jefferson County would have about 27, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 639 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Jefferson County, GA growing?

Population estimates put Jefferson County at 15,011 people in 2025, down 4.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 5,751 households. Median household income in Jefferson County is $53,014, 34% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 56.2%, 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. Jefferson County scores 24 for sit-down restaurants (low), #2,222 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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.