Food and drink · Small-town market · Mississippi
Sit-down restaurants in the Laurel, MS area
How the Laurel, MS area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #203 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi
- Listings
- 130
- 37 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 32
- +18.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $99.1M
- On food away from home · $3,137 a household
- Spending per listing
- $763K
- 15% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 41.1
- 33% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 82,281
- −1.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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
At $3,137 per household (23% below the U.S. average), households in the Laurel area spend about $99.1M a year on food away from home. That is about $763K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 15% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 130 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Laurel area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 28% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 41.1, 33% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 32 businesses with payroll in the Laurel area classed as full-service restaurants, up 18.5% from 2019. That is one for every 988 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $60K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Laurel area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Laurel area declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Laurel area is 56 (upper middle), #203 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi.
How the Laurel area compares
The same measures for Mississippi 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 | Laurel area | Mississippi | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 41.1 | 55.4 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $763K | $593K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 988 | 654 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +18.5% | +2.1% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | −0.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,137 | $3,288 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $51,236 | $56,447 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 32+18.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 440
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 13037 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 149The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $60K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Laurel 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 Laurel area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 82,281−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 31,604
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,371 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 60
- Median household income
- $51,236+26.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,808
- Median home value
- $132,900
- Jobs located here
- 32,859
- Daytime population
- 82,735Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Laurel area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Laurel 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 Mississippi
Every Mississippi market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Mississippi for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Mississippi, with the Laurel area marked.
Top small-town markets in Mississippi
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Picayune, MS | 64 | 100 | 45.7 | $716K | +5.6% | #125 of 538 |
| 2Laurel, MS | 56 | 130 | 41.1 | $763K | −1.5% | #203 of 538 |
| 3Brookhaven, MS | 50 | 67 | 50.9 | $626K | +0.5% | #266 of 538 |
| 4Starkville, MS | 42 | 124 | 47.9 | $660K | +0.8% | #346 of 538 |
| 5McComb, MS | 39 | 93 | 45.8 | $627K | −2.6% | #387 of 538 |
| 6Meridian, MS | 35 | 176 | 50.8 | $610K | −3.2% | #424 of 538 |
| 7Tupelo, MS | 34 | 314 | 60.6 | $560K | +0.8% | #433 of 538 |
| 8Columbus, MS | 33 | 148 | 54.9 | $566K | −2.7% | #441 of 538 |
| 9Natchez, MS-LA | 33 | 115 | 55.5 | $522K | −0.9% | #447 of 538 |
| 10Oxford, MS | 33 | 223 | 92.8 | $384K | +5.3% | #449 of 538 |
Other business types in the Laurel area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes44
- Sit-down restaurants56
- Fast food and sandwich shops18
- Pizza44
- Coffee shops and cafes28
- Bakeries and dessert shops26
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 Laurel, MS area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 130 sit-down restaurants in the Laurel area. 37 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 18.5% from 2019. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Laurel, MS area spend on food away from home?
About $99.1M a year, or $3,137 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 130 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $763K 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 31,604 households in the Laurel area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Laurel, MS area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Laurel area has 41.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $763K, 15% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Laurel area would have about 149, against 130 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 988 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 18.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Laurel, MS area growing?
Population estimates put the Laurel area at 82,281 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 31,604 households. Median household income in the Laurel area is $51,236, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.2%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Laurel area scores 56 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #203 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Laurel 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 Laurel area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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.