Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Ohio

Sit-down restaurants in the Akron, OH metro area

The sit-down restaurants in the Akron, OH metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #94 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio

Listings
1,460
481 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
447
+0.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.1B
On food away from home · $3,851 a household
Spending per listing
$782K
18% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
49.2
20% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
701,780
0.0% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Akron 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 Akron metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on food away from home in the Akron metro area comes to about $1.1B a year: $3,851 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $782K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 18% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 1,460 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Akron metro area as of September 2026. 481 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 49.2 per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 447 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Akron metro area in 2023, up 0.9% from 2019. That is one for every 663 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 79 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 49 SBA-backed loans worth $16.1M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Akron metro area.

Population estimates show the Akron metro area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Akron metro area is 63 (upper middle), #94 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Akron metro area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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.

Sit-down restaurants in Akron, OH metro area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureAkron metro areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households49.248.961.3
Spending per listing$782K$783K$664K
Households per official establishment663632500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+0.9%+0.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,851$3,829$4,070
Median household income$72,371$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6365

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
447+0.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
10,902
Annual payroll, 2023
$241M
One-person businesses, 2023
79Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1,460481 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,721The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
49
Amount
$16.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Akron 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 Akron metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
701,7800.0% since 2020
Households
296,516
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
900 sq. mi.
People per square mile
777
Median household income
$72,371+26.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$98,647
Median home value
$213,000
Jobs located here
325,441
Daytime population
698,523Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Akron 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 Akron metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Sit-down restaurants across Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Ohio for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Ohio (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Akron metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Ohio

Metro areas in Ohio ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Columbus, OH754,59053.1$786K+4.7%#28 of 387
2Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH711,57245.6$834K+1.5%#42 of 387
3Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN674,62651.0$803K+2.7%#66 of 387
4Springfield, OH6521939.1$895K−0.4%#76 of 387
5Akron, OH631,46049.2$782K0.0%#94 of 387
6Mansfield, OH5920741.3$814K−0.1%#115 of 387
7Canton-Massillon, OH5876946.0$787K−0.2%#123 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH5463942.0$799K−2.6%#150 of 387
8Cleveland, OH504,95853.2$724K−0.8%#188 of 387
9Lima, OH4919948.2$727K−1.2%#196 of 387

Other business types in the Akron metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Akron, OH metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 1,460 sit-down restaurants in the Akron metro area. 481 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 447 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 0.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 79 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Akron, OH metro area spend on food away from home?

About $1.1B a year, or $3,851 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,460 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $782K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 296,516 households in the Akron metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Akron, OH metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Akron metro area has 49.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $782K, 18% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Akron metro area would have about 1,721, against 1,460 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 663 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 0.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Akron, OH metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Akron metro area at 701,780 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 296,516 households. Median household income in the Akron metro area is $72,371, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.3%, 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 Akron metro area scores 63 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #94 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 Akron 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 Akron metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Akron 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 Akron 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.