Food and drink · County · New Jersey
Sit-down restaurants in Essex County, NJ
How Essex County, NJ 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 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,338 of 2,405 scored counties
#12 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey
- Listings
- 2,388
- 336 chain locations (14%)
- Official establishments
- 622
- +0.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.4B
- On food away from home · $4,245 a household
- Spending per listing
- $568K
- 14% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 74.7
- 22% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 896,379
- +4.2% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Essex 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 Essex County. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 2,388 sit-down restaurants in Essex County. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 74.7 per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in Essex County comes to about $1.4B a year: $4,245 per household, 4% above the U.S. average. Spread across 2,388 sit-down restaurants, that is $568K 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Essex County was 622 in 2023, up 0.3% from 2019. That is one for every 514 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 234 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 51 SBA-backed loans worth $22.5M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Essex County.
Population estimates put the population change in Essex County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in Essex County is 47 (lower middle), #1,338 of 2,405 scored counties and #12 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey.
How Essex County compares
The same measures for New Jersey 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 | Essex County | New Jersey | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 74.7 | 77.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $568K | $601K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 514 | 435 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +0.3% | +2.1% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.2% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,245 | $4,680 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $80,789 | $103,556 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 44 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 620 → 622+0.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 8,361
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $270.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 234Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2,388336 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2,046The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 51
- Amount
- $22.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Essex 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 Essex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 896,379+4.2% since 2020
- Households
- 319,788
- Median age
- 38.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 45%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.3
- Land area
- 126 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 6,845
- Median household income
- $80,789+31.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $131,554
- Median home value
- $524,100
- Jobs located here
- 362,597
- Daytime population
- 843,719Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Essex 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 Essex County. 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 New Jersey
Every New Jersey market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in New Jersey for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in New Jersey, with Essex County marked.
Top counties in New Jersey
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Burlington County, NJ | 73 | 989 | 55.8 | $853K | +4.3% | #307 of 2,405 |
| 2Gloucester County, NJ | 71 | 615 | 54.6 | $847K | +3.3% | #350 of 2,405 |
| 3Salem County, NJ | 71 | 123 | 49.5 | $797K | +2.3% | #352 of 2,405 |
| 4Sussex County, NJ | 67 | 302 | 52.3 | $935K | +2.9% | #460 of 2,405 |
| 5Warren County, NJ | 62 | 252 | 55.5 | $794K | +3.2% | #677 of 2,405 |
| 6Somerset County, NJ | 58 | 944 | 72.2 | $761K | +3.5% | #825 of 2,405 |
| 7Hunterdon County, NJ | 57 | 342 | 67.2 | $814K | +2.3% | #859 of 2,405 |
| 8Ocean County, NJ | 57 | 1,513 | 62.0 | $690K | +5.6% | #874 of 2,405 |
| 9Camden County, NJ | 53 | 1,348 | 66.6 | $635K | +2.4% | #1,058 of 2,405 |
| 10Morris County, NJ | 51 | 1,485 | 76.8 | $706K | +3.2% | #1,138 of 2,405 |
| 12Essex County, NJ | 47 | 2,388 | 74.7 | $568K | +4.2% | #1,338 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Essex County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes53
- Sit-down restaurants47
- Fast food and sandwich shops67
- Pizza69
- Coffee shops and cafes62
- Bakeries and dessert shops51
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 Essex County, NJ?
Essex County has 2,388 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 336 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 622 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 0.3% from 2019. Another 234 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Essex County, NJ spend on food away from home?
About $1.4B a year, or $4,245 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,388 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $568K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 319,788 households in Essex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Essex County, NJ compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Essex County has 74.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $568K, 14% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Essex County would have about 2,046, against 2,388 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 514 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 0.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is Essex County, NJ growing?
Population estimates put Essex County at 896,379 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 319,788 households. The median household income in Essex County is $80,789 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.3% 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. Essex County scores 47 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,338 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Essex 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 Essex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Essex 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 Essex 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.