Food and drink · Metro area · Pennsylvania
Sit-down restaurants in the Reading, PA metro area
How the Reading, PA 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 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #48 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 772
- 177 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 274
- −6.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $643.6M
- On food away from home · $3,943 a household
- Spending per listing
- $834K
- 26% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 47.3
- 23% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 440,072
- +2.7% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Reading 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 Reading 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
At $3,943 per household (3% below the U.S. average), households in the Reading metro area spend about $643.6M a year on food away from home. That is about $834K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 26% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 772 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Reading metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 177 are chain locations, or 23%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 47.3 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 274 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Reading metro area in 2023, down 6.5% from 2019. That is one for every 596 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 57 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 15 SBA-backed loans worth $9M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Reading metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Reading metro area grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Reading metro area has a Groundwork market score of 70 (upper middle): #48 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Reading metro area compares
The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 | Reading metro area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 47.3 | 53.7 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $834K | $740K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 596 | 559 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −6.5% | −2.3% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,943 | $3,973 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $79,777 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 274−6.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,176
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $105.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 57Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 772177 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 970The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 15
- Amount
- $9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Reading 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 Reading metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 440,072+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 163,236
- Median age
- 40.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 856 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 506
- Median household income
- $79,777+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $103,265
- Median home value
- $257,300
- Jobs located here
- 179,513
- Daytime population
- 404,462Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Reading 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 Reading 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Reading metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1York-Hanover, PA | 85 | 770 | 42.4 | $952K | +3.6% | #8 of 387 |
| 2Lebanon, PA | 81 | 193 | 34.0 | $1.1M | +2.2% | #12 of 387 |
| 3Gettysburg, PA | 78 | 169 | 41.4 | $967K | +3.6% | #17 of 387 |
| 4Lancaster, PA | 78 | 927 | 43.6 | $950K | +1.9% | #18 of 387 |
| 5Reading, PA | 70 | 772 | 47.3 | $834K | +2.7% | #48 of 387 |
| 6Chambersburg, PA | 69 | 277 | 43.6 | $878K | +3.0% | #55 of 387 |
| 7Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 63 | 1,339 | 54.4 | $735K | +4.2% | #96 of 387 |
| 8Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 55 | 15,176 | 61.5 | $708K | +1.4% | #146 of 387 |
| 9Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 54 | 1,926 | 56.7 | $726K | +3.0% | #156 of 387 |
| 10State College, PA | 52 | 302 | 51.2 | $758K | −0.4% | #167 of 387 |
Other business types in the Reading metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes77
- Sit-down restaurants70
- Fast food and sandwich shops77
- Pizza60
- Coffee shops and cafes77
- Bakeries and dessert shops53
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 Reading, PA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 772 sit-down restaurants in the Reading metro area. 177 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 274 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 6.5% from 2019. Official counts list 57 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Reading, PA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $643.6M a year, or $3,943 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 772 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $834K 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 163,236 households in the Reading metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Reading, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Reading metro area has 47.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $834K, 26% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Reading metro area would have about 970, against 772 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 596 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 6.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Reading, PA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Reading metro area at 440,072 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 163,236 households. Median household income in the Reading metro area is $79,777, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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 Reading metro area scores 70 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #48 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 Reading 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 Reading metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Reading 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 Reading 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.