Food and drink · Metro area · New Jersey
Sit-down restaurants in the Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area
The sit-down restaurants in the Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #240 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 3 scored metro areas based in New Jersey
- Listings
- 1,092
- 205 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 301
- +3.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $666.1M
- On food away from home · $4,622 a household
- Spending per listing
- $610K
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 75.8
- 24% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 399,289
- +3.3% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Trenton-Princeton 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 Trenton-Princeton metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 1,092 sit-down restaurants in the Trenton-Princeton metro area. 205 of them (19%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 75.8 per 10,000 households, 24% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Trenton-Princeton metro area comes to about $666.1M a year: $4,622 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. That is about $610K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 8% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 301 businesses with payroll in the Trenton-Princeton metro area classed as full-service restaurants, up 3.8% from 2019. That is one for every 479 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 100 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $8.4M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Trenton-Princeton metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Trenton-Princeton metro area grew 3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Trenton-Princeton metro area has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #240 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 3 scored metro areas based in New Jersey.
How the Trenton-Princeton metro area 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 | Trenton-Princeton metro area | New Jersey | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 75.8 | 77.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $610K | $601K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 479 | 435 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.8% | +2.1% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,622 | $4,680 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $100,645 | $103,556 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 44 | 44 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 301+3.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,297
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $152.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 100Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,092205 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,004The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 16
- Amount
- $8.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Trenton-Princeton 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 Trenton-Princeton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 399,289+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 144,114
- Median age
- 40.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 225 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,719
- Median household income
- $100,645+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $142,372
- Median home value
- $377,700
- Jobs located here
- 262,034
- Daytime population
- 469,892Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Trenton-Princeton 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 Trenton-Princeton metro 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 New Jersey
Every New Jersey market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in New Jersey for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in New Jersey (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Trenton-Princeton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in New Jersey
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 55 | 15,176 | 61.5 | $708K | +1.4% | #146 of 387 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 54 | 1,926 | 56.7 | $726K | +3.0% | #156 of 387 |
| 1Trenton-Princeton, NJ | 44 | 1,092 | 75.8 | $610K | +3.3% | #240 of 387 |
| 2Vineland, NJ | 42 | 330 | 61.4 | $591K | +2.2% | #265 of 387 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 30 | 60,910 | 82.4 | $559K | +0.6% | #346 of 387 |
| 3Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | 22 | 1,898 | 122.9 | $330K | +0.8% | #373 of 387 |
Other business types in the Trenton-Princeton metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants44
- Fast food and sandwich shops69
- Pizza63
- Coffee shops and cafes62
- Bakeries and dessert shops46
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 Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area?
The Trenton-Princeton metro area has 1,092 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 205 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 301 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 100 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area spend on food away from home?
About $666.1M a year, or $4,622 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,092 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $610K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 144,114 households in the Trenton-Princeton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Trenton-Princeton metro area has 75.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 24% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $610K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Trenton-Princeton metro area would have about 1,004, against 1,092 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 479 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Trenton-Princeton metro area at 399,289 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 144,114 households. The median household income in the Trenton-Princeton metro area is $100,645 a year, 25% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.2% 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. The Trenton-Princeton metro area scores 44 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #240 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 Trenton-Princeton 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 Trenton-Princeton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Trenton-Princeton 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 Trenton-Princeton 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.