Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina
Sit-down restaurants in the Kinston, NC area
How the Kinston, NC 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 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #276 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 110
- 33 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 26
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $68.6M
- On food away from home · $2,937 a household
- Spending per listing
- $623K
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 47.1
- 23% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 55,837
- +1.4% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Kinston 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 Kinston 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 110 sit-down restaurants in the Kinston area. Of those, 33 are chain locations, or 30%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 47.1 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $2,937 per household (28% below the U.S. average), households in the Kinston area spend about $68.6M a year on food away from home. That is about $623K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 6% 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 the Kinston area was 26 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 898 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Kinston area grew 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Kinston area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #276 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Kinston area compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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 | Kinston area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 47.1 | 53.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $623K | $709K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 898 | 501 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +6.8% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.4% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,937 | $3,776 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $45,143 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 260.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 508
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $9.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11033 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 103The 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 the Kinston 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 Kinston area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 55,837+1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 23,351
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 399 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 138
- Median household income
- $45,143+14.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $65,291
- Median home value
- $120,500
- Jobs located here
- 29,615
- Daytime population
- 59,853Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Kinston 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 Kinston 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Kinston area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 89 | 168 | 33.7 | $1.1M | +12.3% | #4 of 538 |
| 2New Bern, NC | 63 | 238 | 45.4 | $751K | +3.6% | #135 of 538 |
| 3Marion, NC | 61 | 69 | 37.0 | $864K | +1.5% | #151 of 538 |
| 4Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 58 | 178 | 45.8 | $715K | +3.4% | #188 of 538 |
| 5North Wilkesboro, NC | 56 | 105 | 38.7 | $776K | +0.6% | #201 of 538 |
| 6Laurinburg, NC | 54 | 50 | 39.7 | $743K | −0.3% | #221 of 538 |
| 7Sanford, NC | 53 | 128 | 50.9 | $671K | +10.8% | #238 of 538 |
| 8Albemarle, NC | 50 | 131 | 51.9 | $650K | +9.8% | #265 of 538 |
| 9Wilson, NC | 49 | 159 | 48.1 | $670K | +1.7% | #272 of 538 |
| 10Kinston, NC | 49 | 110 | 47.1 | $623K | +1.4% | #276 of 538 |
Other business types in the Kinston area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes49
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops29
- Pizza35
- Coffee shops and cafes57
- Bakeries and dessert shops48
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 Kinston, NC area?
There are 110 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Kinston area as of September 2026. 33 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Kinston, NC area spend on food away from home?
About $68.6M a year, or $2,937 per household. That is 28% below the U.S. average (an index of 72, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 110 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $623K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,351 households in the Kinston area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Kinston, NC area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Kinston area has 47.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $623K, 6% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Kinston area would have about 103, against 110 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 898 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 Kinston, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Kinston area at 55,837 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,351 households. The median household income in the Kinston area is $45,143 a year, 44% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 14.6% 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. 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 Kinston area scores 49 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #276 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 Kinston 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 Kinston area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kinston 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 Kinston 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.