Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina
Sit-down restaurants in the Waynesville, NC area
How the Waynesville, 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #373 of 538 scored small-town markets
#16 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 143
- 29 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 62
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $92M
- On food away from home · $3,391 a household
- Spending per listing
- $643K
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 52.7
- 14% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 63,369
- +1.9% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Waynesville 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 Waynesville 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 143 sit-down restaurants in the Waynesville area. Chain locations make up 20% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 52.7 for every 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Households in the Waynesville area spend about $92M a year on food away from home, or $3,391 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That is about $643K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 3% 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 Waynesville area was 62 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 437 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Waynesville area grew 1.9% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Waynesville area has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #373 of 538 scored small-town markets and #16 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Waynesville 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 | Waynesville area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 52.7 | 53.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $643K | $709K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 437 | 501 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +6.8% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,391 | $3,776 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $61,912 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 620.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,151
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $26.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 13Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14329 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 139The 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 Waynesville 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 Waynesville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 63,369+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 27,123
- Median age
- 47.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 554 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 113
- Median household income
- $61,912
- Average household income
- $80,833
- Median home value
- $279,200
- Jobs located here
- 17,778
- Daytime population
- 52,805Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waynesville 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 Waynesville 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 Waynesville 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 |
| 16Waynesville, NC | 40 | 143 | 52.7 | $643K | +1.9% | #373 of 538 |
Other business types in the Waynesville area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes45
- Sit-down restaurants40
- Fast food and sandwich shops45
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes59
- 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 the Waynesville, NC area?
The Waynesville area has 143 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 29 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 62 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 13 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Waynesville, NC area spend on food away from home?
About $92M a year, or $3,391 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 143 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $643K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 27,123 households in the Waynesville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waynesville, NC area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Waynesville area has 52.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $643K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Waynesville area would have about 139, against 143 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 437 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 Waynesville, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Waynesville area at 63,369 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,123 households. The median household income in the Waynesville area is $61,912 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Waynesville area scores 40 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #373 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 Waynesville 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 Waynesville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waynesville 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 Waynesville 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.