Food and drink · Metro area · New York
Sit-down restaurants in the Elmira, NY metro area
How the Elmira, NY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #287 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York
- Listings
- 163
- 46 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 64
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $122.7M
- On food away from home · $3,479 a household
- Spending per listing
- $753K
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 46.2
- 25% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 80,415
- −3.9% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Elmira 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 Elmira 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 163 sit-down restaurants in the Elmira metro area. Of those, 46 are chain locations, or 28%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 46.2 for every 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Elmira metro area comes to about $122.7M a year: $3,479 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $753K per restaurant, 13% above 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 the Elmira metro area was 64 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 551 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 7 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $50K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Elmira metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Elmira metro area declined 3.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Elmira metro area scores 38 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #287 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.
How the Elmira metro area compares
The same measures for New York 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 | Elmira metro area | New York | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 46.2 | 72.5 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $753K | $589K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 551 | 392 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | −3.4% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.9% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,479 | $4,270 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $63,716 | $85,974 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 21 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 640.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,420
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $30.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 7Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16346 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 185The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $50K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Elmira 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 Elmira metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 80,415−3.9% since 2020
- Households
- 35,262
- Median age
- 42.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 407 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 202
- Median household income
- $63,716+16.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,374
- Median home value
- $141,100
- Jobs located here
- 31,723
- Daytime population
- 81,216Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Elmira 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 Elmira 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 York
Every New York market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in New York, with the Elmira metro area marked.
Top metro areas in New York
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Syracuse, NY | 57 | 1,347 | 49.7 | $776K | −1.3% | #132 of 387 |
| 2Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 54 | 2,120 | 55.3 | $759K | +1.9% | #152 of 387 |
| 3Rochester, NY | 52 | 2,248 | 50.4 | $768K | −0.7% | #166 of 387 |
| 4Binghamton, NY | 48 | 424 | 41.4 | $861K | −1.3% | #204 of 387 |
| 5Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 42 | 2,690 | 53.6 | $705K | −0.8% | #257 of 387 |
| 6Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | 42 | 1,781 | 69.9 | $642K | +3.0% | #260 of 387 |
| 7Elmira, NY | 38 | 163 | 46.2 | $753K | −3.9% | #287 of 387 |
| 8Utica-Rome, NY | 31 | 629 | 52.0 | $696K | −2.0% | #336 of 387 |
| 9Kingston, NY | 31 | 509 | 68.5 | $612K | +1.1% | #340 of 387 |
| 10New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 30 | 60,910 | 82.4 | $559K | +0.6% | #346 of 387 |
Other business types in the Elmira metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes43
- Sit-down restaurants38
- Fast food and sandwich shops41
- Pizza44
- Coffee shops and cafes48
- Bakeries and dessert shops17
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 Elmira, NY metro area?
The Elmira metro area has 163 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 46 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 64 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 7 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Elmira, NY metro area spend on food away from home?
About $122.7M a year, or $3,479 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 163 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $753K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 35,262 households in the Elmira metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Elmira, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Elmira metro area has 46.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $753K, 13% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Elmira metro area would have about 185, against 163 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 551 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Elmira, NY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Elmira metro area at 80,415 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 35,262 households. The median household income in the Elmira metro area is $63,716 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 16.0% 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 Elmira metro area scores 38 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #287 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 Elmira 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 Elmira metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elmira 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 Elmira 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.